The Unexpected (Reading HoH)
by Middlemist1
Summary: NEW COVER! The Heroes of Olympus are sent on an adventure through time... Reading the House of Hades. Weekly Updates - Friday or Saturday nights.
1. Percy I

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belong to Rick Riordan

This chapter has been edited.

A/N: Unlike the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series written by the amazing Rick Riordan, this fanfiction will be written in first person.

As a little game, I have hidden a reference in here from another fandom. Please comment which fandom it is and what the reference is below!

The first thing I noticed was the girl.

She was around eight, with a small, pert nose, and slightly up tilted eyes. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and her clothes were plain, but finely made.

But what struck me were her eyes. They looked normal, but they were bright red, and flame seemed to be behind them like smoke under glass.

And she was looking straight at me.

I sat up. Well, tried to anyway. The second I moved my body, it felt as though someone had slid a dagger between my ribs, so I decided that laying down and talking didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Lady Hestia." I croaked, feeling as through I had not spoken for days.

Her eyes flared up with surprise.

In the few seconds it had taken her to form a response, I took a quick look around the room, assessing where I am.

Bright light filtered through the curtains that slowly swayed in the breeze. Next to the girl, on the opposite side of the room was a small hearth, the coals still glowing with heat. Surrounding me was a mixture of medical supplies and medications that stacked the shelves all around me. Some of the medications seemed to be labeled with simple modern mortal medications, like Ibuprofen and Advil, while others seemed more godly, like nectar and ambrosia. There were even a few odd ones, like a "pepperup potion" or "skelegrow".

I was laying on a bed half surrounded by a curtain. The bed was covered with bright yellow, no gold,blankets. The room, actually, seemed to be covered in gold. The tiles, the walls, even the ceiling seemed to be themed in gold. The color scheme oddly reminded me of the Apollo cabin back at Camp Half-Blood.

"You know who I am?" She said this with raised eyebrows, it being more of a question than a statement.

That put me on my guard.

I slowly sat up, assessing her.

"Yes," I said slowly, trying to see if she was being serious. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," She said, tilting her head to the side in a way that was almost feline, "Should I?'

I probably would have said more, but my head pounded, I slipped back into unconsciousness.

I went in and out of consciousness for what seemed like days. Sometimes Hestia was there, sometimes she wasn't. Every once in a while some guy in a white lab coat seemed to be checking on me. When I finally regained consciousness I didn't open my eyes right away, for I felt a presence sitting next to the hearth, tending the the flames. I racked my memory for what had happened.

Tartarus. Bob. Arai. _Annabeth._ And a flash of light. That was the last thing that I remembered, a flash of light. Which is especially odd, as there is no light in tartarus.

I shot up. Hestia jumped a little before she seemed to settle herself. Her eyes got that look again in her eyes as she started to say, "Wh-"

"Annabeth," I said, beginning to freak out, "Where is Annabeth."

Hestia got a bit of a confused look be for she shook her head and said to me, "The girl you were with? She is safe, unconscious, but healing and safe" She continued "You were the first to wake up."

I felt my shoulders relax and I was slowly lowering myself back onto the pillow when I felt the bandages. Feeling as terrible as I was, and covered in this many bandages, I tried not to think about how bad the injuries were when I first appeared here- wherever here is.

"Thank the gods," I muttered.

"You shouldn't move that quickly," Hestia said, "You are still healing, and you are lucky to be alive, for gorgons blood poisoning isn't an easy thing to come back from." She began to speak again, "Who are you?"

I started, and said, "Lady Hestia, we have met multiple times, how can you not-"

Just then the door burst open. Standing in the doorway stood a man in white lab coat. He looked at me, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Your awake," the man said said, looking a bit shocked, "I wasn't expecting you to wake for another few hours."

I stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "I'm sorry, who are you?" It seems this question was going to be through around a lot.

And I could have sworn that I could feel Annabeth punch my shoulder for the abruptness of the question.

The man, no _god,_ I realized, for this was definitely a god who was standing before me. He had that aura, that otherworldly sense, that made it obvious that even though he looked and talked like the mortals running all around New York with there jobs, stress, and short-lifespans, he was definitely not one.

The god shook his head as if to clear away whatever thought was nagging at him.

"Of course, forgive my manners," the god said, "I am Asclepius, the Greek god of healers."

"Oh," I said intelligently, "All right then."

"Is it alright if I do a quick check up?" Asclepius said, "To make sure all of the poison is gone."

I slowly nodded my head, not quite trusting this "Aslcepius".

As he came over to check me I let my mind wander.

Alright, step one is figure out where I am. It seemed that I was on Olympus, probably in Apollo's own personal infirmary or something, if the color scheme was any indication. I remembered Annabeth telling me something about Asclepius being Apollo's son.

Step two was a bit harder to figure out. How did I get here? I was stumped. Maybe some god- no. The gods were at war with themselves, that and the fact that I had been in Tartarus, which was out of the gods domain that if they had wanted to get me and Annabeth out they wouldn't have been able to. Not that they would have cared to in the first place. Alright, so not a god, not a titan, because Bob would have been able to get us out. Not a god, not a titan, maybe a primordial. But what primordial world want to get me out of Tartarus? Lets see, Nyx? Doubtful Ouranus? No, he's pretty much dead. Gaea? Maybe... if she wanted to take me and Annabeth out of Tartarus to kill us for our blood to be used to awaken her. But she went through a lot of trouble to get us down there in the first place. I would have kept on running deities through my head if Asclepius hadn't spoken.

"It appears that the poison is completely gone," he said, his eyebrows scrunched as if he was completing an extremely complicated puzzle and was looking for one piece in a sea of a hundred. He shook his head again. "I'll come back later to check on you." After I'd nodded he he'd turned around and walked out, still looking as though he was trying to solve some complected puzzle.

Hestia sat up straighter and cleared her throat, before asking in a polite but demanding way, obviously having wanted to ask the question for a while.

"Who are you?"

A/N Just so you know, this is my first fanfiction. I ask that if you are to criticize, please give me some constructive criticism. I would personally highly appreciate the constructive criticism, because it would give me room to improve.

Written 12/05/17

Edited 4/12/18


	2. Percy II

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus, all rights go to Rick Riordan

This chapter has been edited.

A/N: I know that the Battle of the Labyrinth was written in 2008, and the House of Hades was written in 2013, but for the stories sake I am going to pretend that Percy lives in 2017, and has gone back to 2014.

 _Hestia sat up straighter and cleared her throat, before asking in a polite but demanding way, obviously having wanted to ask the question for a while._

 _"Who are you?"_

I looked at Hestia.

I was about to tell Hesia my name, although I was a bit hurt that she didn't know who I was. Especially seeing as we had met on several occasions, one happening to be the time she advised me to talk to my mom before going to take on the Achilles Curse. But before I could speak, Hestia answered her own question.

"Because to me you look like young Perseus Jackson. And if it weren't for the fact that Mr. Jackson is 14 years old, and is currently on a on a quest in the Labyrinth as, I would say that you were him. Only you look to be about 17 or 18, and are most definitely not on your way back from the Labyrinth, for you have been laying in front of me for the past two days as I have watched young Mr. Jackson's progress," Hestia stopped for a moment to take a breath before continuing, "And at first I had convinced myself that I was seeing things, that you must another of Poseidon's offspring, somehow hidden for almost two decades, and that the girl you appeared with was one of Athena's, but then you woke up and asked for "Annabeth", which just happens to be the same name as young Ms. Chase, who is also on a quest in the Labyrinth."

When she finished with her outburst I admit I was a bit shocked, for I had never seen her speak so forcefully. She must have been pondering for - how long did she say I was unconscious for? Two days? Well, she must have been thinking for two days about who she thought I was and why I looked so familiar. I couldn't blame her for being impatient.

"So I ask you," Hestia said, jolting me back to the present, "Who are you?"

I stared at Hestia for a second as the pieces slid into place, before saying slowly, "What year is it?"

Three years in the past.

That's when I was. 2014, three years in the past.

Hestia gave me a few minutes to get over my shock after I had confirmed that I was Percy Jackson. She said that she would give me a half an hour before she would return with someone to question me.

Right after she left I realized that I had been so shocked about her outburst and then the revelation about where, no _when_ , I was, that I had completely forgotten to ask for more information about how Annabeth was doing. What if she was seriously hurt? Hestia had said that she was healing. Did that mean that she _was_ really hurt- no. _Think happy thoughts Percy, bad thoughts have never gotten anyone anywhere._

I sat for the rest of the half of the hour thinking, barely moving. I know what you are thinking. _Percy Jackson, the ADHD demigod, laying almost completely still, thinking?_ Well, I guess being shot three years in the past not knowing if your best friend/girlfriend is hurt, can really help someone just lay still for a bit.

While I was laying there with nothing to do, four questions formed in my head. The first was, how did I get here? Who brought me here. I had already ran a whole bunch of people through my head, but none of them matched.

The second really worried me, why am I here? What in Hades am I doing three years in the past? If someone had rescued us from Tartarus, and had the ability to shoot us three years in the past, why would they not just put me back on the Argo II? Why here? And more specifically, why this time?

The third was, how do I get back? I didn't have the slightest clue for that one.

And fourth, what happens when I go back? Will I be sent back to Tartarus, or to the Argo II, or someplace else entirely.

With my mind racing at a million miles per hour, I didn't notice that he entered the room until he was standing right beside me, Hestia a few steps behind.

I sat up, and slowly bowed my head.

"Father."

I looked at Hestia through the corner of my eyes, silently asking why she had brought him.

Hestia cleared her throat and looked a bit flustered as she stuttered out, "I brought him because he seemed like the person who you would most likely tell us about... what happened, and where you are from." She paused, "That, and the fact that he seemed to be the only Olympian who would be the least likely to want to kill you, if I am remembering the first time you met the Olympian Counsel correctly."

Poseidon had raised his eyebrows a bit, but nodded his head, agreeing with what Hestia said.

"So," my father said, dragging out the "o", the conversation getting awkward already. "Um, what year are you from?" he paused a bit between each of these words

I shook my head a bit to clear my thoughts. "2017," I replied, sitting up a little straighter.

"And you are my son, you are Perseus Jackson?"

"Just Percy, and yes, I am your son."

My father nodded his head. "And do you know why you are here?" he said, hesitating a little.

"No, I just remember a flash of light"

Poseidon nodded his head again.

"Also, if it is okay to ask, what happened? How did you get poisoned, and what happened to the other girl you came with?"

"Annabeth," I muttered.

My father looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Her name is Annabeth," I clarified, "And this sounds an awful lot like an interrogation."

He gave me a look saying that yes, this was an interrogation, and that he hated it as much as I did. "What happened?" he asked again, a bit more forcefully.

"I would rather not talk about it."

Poseidon started to protest, when Hestia interrupted him, having sensed the change in my demeanor.

"Maybe this would be better if taken up in the council room," she said.

I nodded, deciding that this conversation had gotten to the point where I would rather have several people there to see if one of them would back me up.

"There is a bathroom around the corner," Hestia continued, "a change of clothes is already in there waiting for you."

I looked down at my tattered Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and ripped up jeans and decided that yes, a change of clothes would be nice.

The clothes were similar to what I had been wearing. Bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, and jeans.

When I returned, Hestia and my father were sitting next to the hearth discussing something in a low voice. When they heard me enter they turned around tolook at me and Hestia said something that filled me with shoulder dropping relief.

"Before we go to the Council room, we have a stop to make, Asclepius just contacted me," she said, "The Daughter of Athena is awake."


	3. Annabeth III

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, all tights go to Rick Riordan

This chapter has been edited.

I woke up to a brightly lit, gold themed room. A god, for it was obviously a god because no mortal could give off an aura like that, in a white lab coat was standing next to me writing notes on a sheet of paper.

I shot up, and the god jumped back a bit.

"Where am I?" I demanded, "Who are you?" _Where is Percy?_ was my unspoken question.

The god shook himself to recover from his shock.

"You are on Olympus, in Lord Apollo's main infirmary," he said, "and I am Asclepius, god of healers."

"A Son of Apollo." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," he said, nodding. He must have read the panic in my eyes because he soon answered my last question.

"And Mr. Jackson is almost completely healed, miraculously." he said, muttering the last part to himself as if he couldn't quite believe it. He started to speak when the door burst open.

"Mother!?" I exclaimed, a bit confused as to why she was here, especially after I saw her expression. She looked somewhere border-lining cautious and worried. But after she had heard me call her mother, she swapped out that cautiousness for weariness.

"So you are Annabeth Chase." She stated, closing her eyes a bit while rubbing one of her temples as if to dispel a headache.

"Yes?" I said, hurt that she had even questioned it, especially after everything I had done for her. I mean, honestly, I retrieved the Athena Parthenos because she had told me to, which had pretty much put me though self-inflicted torture to get the damned thing, and she couldn't even be sure it was me- no I thought. There had to be something going on here. Now that I though about it, Asclepius had told me that this was Apollo's Infirmary, which had to be impossible, because it had been destroyed in the Battle of Manhattan, and I had designed the new one, which looked nothing like this. It was a lot less gold, as Apollo had requested, because he had had patients complaining of headaches from the brightness of it. Off topic, I told myself. But the point was this building had been destroyed a little less than a year ago. Unless maybe they somehow build a new one. Which would have taken quite a while, and the last time I was up on Olympus there were no plans for it, which means that in the amount of time that I have been gone, they was no way that they could have built a new one. Unless-

"How long was I unconscious for?!" I said, starting to panic. _Get it together Annabeth_ , my head told itself.

"About two days," Asclepius said.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"How is this building here then?" I asked.

They both began to look confused.

"What do you mean, how is this building here?" Athena said

I looked at her oddly. How could she not remember?

"This building was -." I suddenly couldn't speak. My eyes widened. I was trying to say that this building was destroyed last year, in the Battle of Manhattan

Suddenly it hit me. If I had only been unconscious for two days , and this building as somehow sanding here then only one thing was possible. It seemed so unlikely that I nearly didn't say it out loud, but it was the only semi-logical explanation.

"Am I in the past?" I asked

Athena nodded grimly.

"2014," she said. "As I am sure Asclepius already told you, Poseidon's son is awake and about to head to the council room. You are going to join him," Athena said, getting right down to business, "unless, she is not well enough?" she asked Asclepius, as a second thought.

"I'm well enough." "She is well enough."

Asclepius and I both spoke at the same time.

Athena nodded her head.

"There is a change of clothes for you in the bathroom around the corner, meet me back here in 5 minutes."

Apparently retrieving the Athena Parthenos doesn't win you any point if you haven't done it yet. I got up and got changed as quickly as possible.

I walked down the hallway, my mother leading (as always) with me and Asclepius following close behind. If I was being honest with my self, I still wasn't over the whole "Follow the Mark of Athena" thing. My mother knew, _knew,_ that none of her children had ever returned from that quest, most of them had never even made it past the first step. She had practically signed my death warrant when she handed me the coin on that subway platform. And she knew what she would be putting me though. Gods, she was supposed to be my mother, not my executioner. If I hadn't gotten lucky and managed to make my way through those tunnels, I wouldn't be alive right now. And, if it weren't for the Mark of Athena, Percy and I would never had fallen into Tartarus and would probably be on the Argo II with our friends on the way to the Doors of Death right now! So yeah, I wasn't completely over the Mark of Athena thing yet.

As we turned a corner I heard footsteps coming down the hall that joined with our own. My mother slowed to a stop. One second I was standing there, then next I was wrapped in someones arms. We just hugged each other, as if to reassure that we were together, alive and safe.

Percy pulled back to look at me.

"Annabeth, thank the gods." he said.

I pulled him closer and put my head on his shoulder as I started to silently cry when it hit me that we were out, that we were _safe_.

"Where together." he said. If I hadn't already loved him, that one sentence would have made me.

I pulled back and wiped away my tears.

"I was so worried," I said, "I couldn't see you or find you, but I could hear you, and when I heard you cry out in pain I thought- I thought..." I trailed off.

"I'm okay." Percy said. "See, completely healed." he said, pulling back.

I gave a pointed look to his bandaged arms.

"Alright, almost completely healed." he conceded.

I nodded, looking at him skeptically.

Athena cleared her throat, her eyes narrowed at our display of affection.

"We should get going, the Council is expecting us." she stated, before turning on her heel and began walking down the corridor again, leaving us no choice but to follow.

A/N: Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I am trying to keep each chapter around 1,000 words. It gives me a goal, makes it easier to get more done. That, and I have a plan for the next chapter, and I would like actually to write the plan in the next chapter. Anyway, please comment. All comments are highly appreciated!


	4. Annabeth IV

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus, all rights go to Rick Riordan

This chapter has been edited.

A/N: **IMPORTANT!** Once 14 year old Percy and Annabeth are introduced, current Percy and Annabeth (17 years old) names will be italicized, and as of right now I believe that all POV's will be in either _Percy's_ or _Annabeth's_. I will not italicize there names until young Percy and Annabeth are introduced.

The Throne Room's large doors opened to a room full of arguing gods.

"Who are they?!"

"Why are they here?!"

"What is it with that box, and why won't it open?!"

"Let's just kill them and be done with it!"

Three guesses who said that last one.

Hestia, who was up until that point sitting quietly at the hearth, cleared her throat. As all of the gods turned to her she nodded her head towards us while saying quietly, but not timidly, "We have guests."

The gods all turned towards us.

Zeus sat up a bit straighter before saying, "Who are you and what are you doing here."

"Wow, straight to the point," Percy whispered to me. I suppressed a laugh, before stepping forward, knowing that if Percy was the one who started speaking, we probably wouldn't survive the next few minutes.

"My name is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, Lord Zeus," I said bowing, "and this is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." I tugged Percy's arm to get him to bow as well.

The gods opened there mouths to start talking (most likely to through accusations at us) before I said,

"We are from the year of 2017." I finished.

Whispers broke out among the gods. Zeus looked over to Athena, who had moved to her throne, for confirmation. She nodded to him, before stating to all the gods,

"My daughter speaks the truth."

Zeus nodded his head, albeit looking a bit shock by this revelation, before asking us,

"And might you tell me what that is?" he said, gesturing to a small bronze box laying on a table (a mortal sized table, not a godly sized one) in the center of the room.

"It appeared with you." Zeus stated, glaring at us a bit

The box was beautifully decorated, with whorls and geometric shapes covering the entire thing. As Percy and I stepped closer to it so that we could see it more clearly. Decorating the top of the box were doors, similar to the elevator doors to enter Olympus, only the colors seemed to be introverted. They were chained down to what seemed the bottom of a large cavern, and if I looked at the picture in my peripheral vision I could have sworn that the doors seemed to jerk and move, as if trying to escape from the chains holding it captive. I reached out to touch it-

"No!" someone exclaimed.

I jerked my hand away before looking for the source of the shout.

Apollo cleared his throat to clarify.

"Don't touch it, it hurts anyone who does." he said, I nodded subconsciously, but as I turned my attention back to the book I had heard a voice in the back of my head.

" _So you are wisdom's daughter and the sea's son,_ " it said. The voice was terrible and wonderful all at once. As if joy and despair, excitement and hatred were all mixed together. Like metal grating on a stone floor and a bird singing it's gorgeous song. I felt like both jumping away and leaning in closer. Percy seemed to hear it as well, for he was looking at the box in horror. I had a feeling that my expression mirrored his. " _It tis a pleasure to meet you at last._ "

" _Chaos told me to not open for anyone except for you two._ " it continued in that terrible, yet wonderful voice, "G _o ahead, open me, I won't bite._ " It seemed to laugh a little at that.

I didn't want to, but my hand moved of it's own accord. It seemed that Percy's did to, because suddenly we were both holding the box. The gods sucked in a breath, as if waiting for us to collapse and scream in pain. But we didn't. In fact, once the top was off I felt better, as if some pressure in my brain that I hadn't noticed before had left. Similar to how Percy described it felt when he was no longer possessed by an _Eidolon._

Inside the box was a black book, titled with golden cursive letters. Cursive is killer on the dyslexia, so it took me a few seconds to read it but I eventually made out _The House of Hades_. Percy and I both stiffened. No author was mentioned. Percy cautiously reached in and grabbed the book. As he picked it up a note fell out, one that was definitely not there seconds ago. I slowly picked it up and walked over to hand it to my mother.

She cleared her throat.

 _Dear Gods and Demigods,_

 _As I am sure that you have already figured out, these demigods are from three years in the future. I have sent them back in time to read this book, the House of Hades. I hope this will help the Olympians make smarter choices in the upcoming wars to help with fewer casualties, and less fighting. But do not think that reading this book will help prevent the wars, because it will not. These wars are inevitable, but I hope that reading this book will help make these wars less drastic. Now, before you get started, there are some rules._

 _1\. You must read_ _ **each**_ _word, no skipping. (This will make more sense when you have started.)_

 _2\. You must have each head counselor of Camp Half-Blood present, both praetors and at least two centurions along with the auger, and the following demigods: Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Piper Mclean, Leo Valdez, and Frank Zhang, all unclaimed. Gods, do not claim these demigods, for that is something you must do when the time is right. And to Hades I now write to directly - I need you to pull a soul from the Fields of Asphodel, the soul of Hazel Levesque. All of these demigods must be present. The Satyr, Grover Underwood, and the Mortal, Rachel Elizabeth Dare must also be present. All of the people previously mentioned will forget this book's reading ever happened one you finish, but the feelings they have, and the friendships they make will nag them in the back of the head when they encounter each other again in the future, which will hopefully lead to less fighting._

 _3\. Gods, I now write to you directly, no harming each other for deeds that have not yet been done, nor may you harm_ _ **any**_ _of the people previously mentioned, no matter what they are, or what they will do. Demigods are not allowed to harm each other either, the Roman's and Greek's may have_ _ **minor**_ _ **verbal**_ _fights, but if it begins to escalate, break up the fight immediately._

 _Sincerely, The Creator, Chaos_

 _P.S: Breaking any of these rules will have severe punishments_

A/N If there is a specific demigod that you want to be in this that I may have forgotten about please contact me, and I will try to fit them in the story line, or a demigod that I have mentioned (like a counselor from Camp Half-Blood that I forget to mention, because this is likely to happen) please contact me,


	5. Percy V

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series, all right go to Rick Riordan

This chapter has been edited.

A/N: **IMPORTANT!** Just reminding you again, any names that are in _italics_ means that they are from the future. There names will begin to be italicized once the younger versions show up, not before then.

The Olympians all looked at each other.

"What should we do?" asked Aphrodite.

"We follow the rules," said Athena.

"What if it isn't Chaos, and someone is just playing us." Aphrodite argued.

"Someone who has the power to send people back in time and make a book of there recent adventure that they could have no way known about that quickly?" said Athena, "It's unlikely, and yes, there is a chance that someone is playing us, but there is also a higher chance that this really is Chaos, and if we don't follow these we will get punished, and do any of you really want to take that risk?"

Nobody said anything.

"Alright then," Athena said, "Perseus and I will go to Camp Half-Blood to retrieve the camp counselors there, as Chaos requested, because Percy is seen as one of there leaders and I am one of the Greeks more respected gods and they will listen to me. Annabeth will go with Mars-"

She was cut off by Zeus clearing his throat, giving Athena a glare and a pointed look at the two young demigods.

"We already know about Camp Jupiter," I told them, "I was there praetor for about an hour," the gods looked raised there eyebrows at this, "and we are kind of at war with them." I muttered that last part to myself.

Athena nodded in cold acknowledgement at me before continuing where she left off,

"Annabeth will go with Mars to Camp Jupiter. Annabeth, just say that you were a demigod sent by Jupiter, not that you are my daughter because, as I'm sure you know, the Romans don't like me much." she said this with a scowl on her face.

"Oh, and Mars," she paused, "let my daughter do most of the talking." Some of the Olympians laughed lightly at this. The four of us will leave tomorrow morning at 8:00 sharp." With that she flashed out.

"So, what are you going to say?" Annabeth asked me the next morning. It was 7:56, and we were standing outside of the throne room, waiting for Athena and Mars.

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "I was just planning on winging it."

"Of course you were," Annabeth muttered, rolling her eyes playfully at me.

"Do you know if our past selves will be at Camp Half-Blood?" I asked Annabeth

"Honestly, I'm not sure," she said, "try asking my mother, she'll know."

Just then Athena flashed in next to us.

"Ask me what?" she said, eyebrows raised.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Percy was just wondering if our past selves will be at Camp Half-Blood when you go there."

I was nodding along intelligently with everything she said.

"The Battle of the Labyrinth took place last night, so yes, they will be there."

This time both Annabeth and I nodded our heads. We both looked at each other, each silently wondering what it would be like meeting our past selves.

Fifteen minutes later Athena and I were walking down Half-Blood hill. It was breakfast, so all of the demigods were in the pavilion. As we neared it, Athena suddenly stopped and pulled a hat out of nowhere. When I say nowhere, I mean that one second she wasn't holding a hat and the next second she was. She handed it to me and told me told me to put it on. I guess that I wasn't all that surprised when I turned invisible. It was similar to Annabeth's Yankee's cap, except it was for the Red Sox's.

"I will need this back, I just know that it would be better to only tell the people that need to know instead of the whole camp." Athena said, "I will go into the pavilion, tell Chiron that I wish to meet with all of the Camp Counselors, and you will follow me to the meeting room in the Big House and take it off there, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." I said. I half wanted to salute to her, but I don't think that she would appreciate that.

The second she entered the pavilion everyone went quiet. She looked around the pavilion with a cold hard stare, that softened only when it rested on the kids from Cabin 6.

"Lady Athena," Chiron said, trotting over, "Might I ask why you are honoring us with you presence?"

"Chiron," Athena said, smiling a little (she has always had a soft spot for educators), "I would like to meet with all of the Camp Counselors."

"Of course," Chiron said, as the Counselors stood up. Including me. And not me, me, not 2017 me, but little me, 2014 me, stood up and walked over to 2014 Annabeth and-gods this was so weird.

"Would you like anyone else?" Chiron asked.

"Thalia Grace and Grover Underwood." Athena stated

I realized that the hunters were sitting at Artemis's table, and that Grover was sitting at the same table as past me had been.

She then addressed the Counselors, "We will meet in the Big House's meeting room in 10 minutes." she said to the shocked demigods, before turning on her heel an leaving. It isn't every day that a god comes down at 8:15 in the morning to call a meeting with the Camp Counselors.

As Athena and I walked out of the pavilion I took the time to look around camp. It looked so different. There were only about half of the cabins that there are in 2017. That, and the fact that the place was a mess from the Battle of the Labyrinth. It it about to get much worse, I thought sadly

\- _From this point on, if Percy and Annabeth's names aren't italicized, then they are from 2014._

Ten minutes later we were all sitting around the ping pong table in the Big House's meeting room. Well, Athena and I were standing, but everyone else was sitting. Usually whenever we have these meetings most of us mess around. But apparently not when a god is in a room. Or when you just fought a major battle in a war.

"Now, you are probably all wondering why we have gathered you all her this morning," Athena said.

"We?" Annabeth said.

"Yes, we." Athena said. She looked over to where I was standing in the corner, on the opposite end of the table from Percy. " _Perseus_?"

I took off the hat.

Everyone gasped. A few kids almost fell out there chairs. Travis Stoll actually did fall out of his chair.

I smiled and waved. One kid actually waved back.

Athena raised her eyebrows. "Would you like to explain?" It wasn't really a question.

I cleared my throat and stepped out if the corner.

"Hi," I said. "You are probably all wondering who I am, aren't you"

They all nodded, still a bit in shock.

"Well my name is _Percy Jackson_ -"

"Wait," I interrupted myself. Well, technically it was 2014 Percy who interrupted me but- ugh, this was so confusing. Young Percy continued, "I'm Percy Jackson."

"Yes you are," I said, clearing things up, "you are 14 year old Percy Jackson who lives in 2014, I am 17 year old Percy Jackson who live in 2017." All I got were blank looks. I sighed. "I'm from the future."

That got a reaction.

There was a ton of yelling, some people asking a ton of questions while others where down right accusing me of lying.

"Be quiet!" I yelled. Everyone was quiet. I sighed, "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I am from 2017, three years in the future. I was sent back here by Chaos with one other demigod to try to minimize that casualties in the upcoming, and unavoidable war-." I suddenly couldn't say "wars". It felt as though someone had grabbed my tongue and held it to the roof of my mouth.

Nobody seemed to notice.

Everyone started talking again. I told them to be quiet again.

"Look, that's all I can tell you right now. I don't fully understand why I, specifically, was sent back, but what I do know it that Chaos sent a book back with us, a book that we all have to read, up on Olympus. Chaos also sent a letter saying that we had to get all of the camp counselors of Camp Half-Blood along with some others to go to Olympus to read it. Chaos was very specific. Chaos also said that if we don't follow the rules exactly that there will be severe punishments. Any more information that you would like to know is most likely information that I do not have, because that is all I know."

"I do have one question that you should know the answer to," said Annabeth.

"What?" I sighed wearily. I was expecting her to ask some complex question about how time travel is possible or something. After all she was Annabeth, just miniaturized.

"Who is the other demigod you came with?" she said.

I raised my eyebrows, not expecting that.

"You."

A/N: Should I write about Annabeth and Mars at Camp Jupiter for the next chapter, or start off the chapter with them already at Olympus? And, if you haven't noticed already, I haven't given Chaos any pronouns, and I apologized how repetitive it is saying Chaos over an over again.


	6. Percy VI

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

A/N: I know that I asked in the last chapter if I should do a chapter on Annabeth and Mars in Camp Jupiter, but I decided that I don't know enough about Camp Jupiter to do an entire chapter on it. Sorry to anyone who wanted a chapter about it.

Getting to Olympus with thirteen demigods, a satyr, and a goddess was a challenge. The guy at the desk who gives out the key cards for the elevator took one look at us and handed over a card, eyes bugging out. Athena had the brilliant idea of us all going up at the same time. Let's just say that I had an itch on my nose for half the time that I couldn't reach because my hand was practically pinned to the wall.

I did a head count. We had Thalia Grace for Zeus and Artemis, mini Percy for Poseidon, Katie Gardner for Demeter, Clarisse La Rue for Ares, mini Annabeth for Athena, Michael Yew for Apollo, Charles Beckendorf for Hephaestus, Silena Beauregard for Aphrodite, Conner and Travis Stoll for Hermes, and Castor and Pollux for Dionysus. I felt my heart break a bit every time I saw someone who was no longer alive.

In conclusion, way to many people for an elevator with a capacity of 7 persons. Some quiet, peaceful (and annoying) elevator music played in the background.

A few minutes later the elevator doors opened and we all spilled out. We walked toward the Throne Room quietly, none of us saying a word. Athena had gone ahead to tell the Council that the Greek demigods had arrived, so I was leading them.

We were almost there when a bright flash had us all freeze in our tracks. _Annabeth_ appeared, obviously having been transported in by some god.

"Hey..." she said trailing off, leaning sideways a bit to get a better look at the demigods (and satyr) standing behind me.

She shook her head before looking at me.

"Gods, this is so weird," she muttered to me quietly.

" _Really_?" I said sarcastically.

She raised her eyebrows at me, "Someone's in a bad mood."

"I have had a really, _really_ bad day," I said continuing to walk forward without looking at her.

"Tell me about it," she muttered.

Apparently our conversation had broken some of the tension surrounding the past demigods, because they started up quiet conversations of our own.

 _Annabeth_ turned around to the demigods before saying,

"Hi, I'm _Annabeth Chase_ , daughter of Athena," she said, pausing a bit before continuing, "and as I am sure you already know, I'm from 2017."

"What is it like?" past Annabeth asked, "2017, I mean."

 _Annabeth_ sighed though her nose before replying to her past self, "Really messed up." She didn't elaborate.

"Mars sent me over here to tell you about what you will be expecting when you go into the Throne Room-"

"Mars?" said Michael Yew, "As in the Roman counterpart of Ares, the god of war."

"There are no Romans, they died off long ago" Silena Beauregard told him.

"Actually _,_ " _Annabeth_ corrected, "there are. The gods just have kept us apart because the last time we knew of each other it led to the American Civil War."

She let everyone take this in before continuing,

"When the gods moved to America, the Greeks set up camp here, in New York. The Romans on the other hand set up a camp near San Francisco, called Camp Jupiter. That's the reason we Greek demigods are warned not to go to San Francisco, and why the Romans are warned not to come to New York." _Annabeth_ told them, "Now, I'm only telling you this because in the letter Chaos sent us it stated that we not only have to get all of the counselors of Camp Half-Blood, but we also have to get about five people from Camp Jupiter. We have already told them everything I have just told you. Oh, and it also said specifically that you are not allowed to fight with the Romans, and that if you do, there will be severe consequences, and since those punishments would be coming from Chaos, I would recommend listening."

Everyone started to talking at the same time.

I whistled loudly. They shut up.

"Would you like to meet them or not?" I said.

Surprisingly, it turned out that I knew each of the Roman's that had come to hear the book. The two praetors were, though I had already expected this, Jason Grace and Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. The Auger was, obviously, Octavian, who had no stuffed animals in sight, and the two centurions were Dakota and Gwendolyn.

"Now, listen h-" Octavian's haughty first impression was interrupted.

"Jason," someone said in a strangled cry.

I turned around to see Thalia, with a hand on her chest.

Jason took a step forward, as if in a trance.

"Thalia?" he said.

"How... how are you alive. Mom took you and she... and she..." Thalia trailed off.

"And she gave me to Hera," Jason finished for her, "to 'appease' her. And then Hera gave me to Lupa, who trained me, and then I left her and went to Camp Jupiter. I've been there ever since. What happened to you?"

"I left," Thalia said breathlessly, "I ran away, lived on the streets for a few years with a couple other demigods before I made my way to Camp Half-Blood."

"How do you look so young?" Jason asked.

"Well, I was a tree for about six years before I was revived by the golden fleece and then I joined the Hunters of Artemis not long after, so I only really was at Camp Half-Blood for a few months."

The Roman's just stared, utterly shocked.

"You were... a tree." Dakota said.

Thalia nodded, "For six years."

Past Annabeth cleared her throat, "We were over run with monsters, and Thalia sacrificed herself so that I, a saytr, and one other demigod could live. Zeus turned her into a tree to preserve her life force that has protected our camp's borders ever since."

"Hold on, back up," said Conner Stoll.

"You two know each other?" finished Travis Stoll, looking at Thalia and Jason.

"Yeah," Thalia answered, "Jason is my younger brother."

"You mean half-brother." Reyna said.

"No, she means full brother." Jason said.

Past me whistled. "So Zeus broke the oath? Twice? With the same person?" Percy said.

"Technically, it was Jupiter the second time, not Zeus." I answered.

We both looked at each other.

The Romans looked at us.

"Alright," Dakota said, "there are two of them. Not weird at all."

"Your name is...?" Clarisse La Rue asked.

"I'm Dakota, son of Bacchus." Dakota said said.

The rest of the Romans went on to introduce themselves, as well as the Greeks.

"We should head in." _Annabeth_ said, "we will get the books started as soon as the others arrive."

"What others?" Castor asked.

"We are expecting five more. Three unclaimed demigods, one mortal and a soul."

"A _soul_?" Everyone said.

"The soul of Hazel Levesque." Annabeth said.

A/N: Please review!


	7. Percy VII

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

A/N: Three things. The first, I was reminded that Castor, son of Dionysus, was killed in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and therefore will not be in any future chapters for obvious reasons. The second is that some people were wondering if I was going to write the entire book, or just the Tartarus chapters. I will be writing (trying to) the entire book. Also, if you notice any information that I have gotten wrong or have left out (like how Castor had died, but I had forgotten, or if I forget to mention a character that you would like me to mention) please contact me. I haven't read the Heroes of Olympus since last March, and the Percy Jackson series since even before that, so it is likely that I will miss some information.

We entered the Throne Room, with me and Annabeth in the lead. We walked to the center of the room before I bowed, the other demigods following my lead.

"What an odd sight, Greeks and Romans, walking side by side." said Artemis.

"Lets get this over with." said Ares.

"What about the others?" I asked, "The other five people mentioned?"

The gods all nodded their heads or pointed to the corner of the room, behind us. There, standing quietly in the corner, were five figures. As we all looked over, they tried to hide in the shadows. One of them partially succeeded.

The one in the front cleared her throat. She had bright frizzy red hair, and a paint splattered shirt. She stepped forward.

"Um.. hi?" she said, making it more of a question than a statement, "I'm Rachel Dare, and I am a mortal."

She looked to the girl standing behind her, who had choppy brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes.

"I'm Piper Mclean, and according to them," Piper said, looking at the gods, "I am a demigod."

The third kid to step forward was a scrawny Latino boy, who reminded me a bit of an elf. I could have sworn that I saw a grease stain on his cheek.

"I am Leo Valdez, and I'm also a demigod."

The forth kid was a large Chinese dude. While he was large and built liked a football player, and probably would have been able to intimidate anyone, if his face hadn't ruined the image. It looked a bit like a baby's.

"My name is Frank Zhang, and, again, I'm a demigod." he said.

The last one was the most curious. It was difficult to discern her features, because I could see right through her to the wall right behind her.

"I'm Hazel Levesque," the ghost said, "and I am a soul from the Fields of Asphodel, but I was a demigod once, before I died in 1942, and I am a daughter of Pluto."

It was to her that everyone's curiosity was focused. After all, seeing a soul of a daughter of one of the Big Three who died in 1942 isn't something you see everyday.

"Alright," Hephaestus said, "let's get started."

As soon as Athena had grabbed the book from the box, another note had fallen out. She picked it up and read it out loud. It was short and to the point.

 _Dear Gods, Demigods, Satyr, and Mortal_

 _I will remind you again only this once, you must read this book word for word, no skipping any parts. This rule will make more sense soon enough. You may all feel free to discuss the book at any time, in any way. In fact, I encourage it. This will help you all much more if you discuss. Also, Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase are not the only two people from the future that will be joining. The others will join you as the book progresses._

 _Sincerely, The Creator, Chaos_

We all looked at each other, not really knowing what to say. And what did Chaos mean by _"this rule will make more sense soon enough"_? Why did we have to read it word for word, and why did Chaos emphasize how important it was.

Athena had opened the book and was about to start reading when Reyna stepped forward.

"Lord Jupiter, if I may," she said, looking at Zeus for permission to speak. When he nodded, she continued, "I was wondering if we could have some place to sit, because it would be a bit difficult for us to stand for the duration of this book."

Of course, I thought. How did I not think of that. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought that, based on everyone else's expressions.

Zeus nodded, before waving a hand and conjure several couches and chairs, along with a few coffee tables. We all sat down, there being just enough room for everyone.

I leaned forward, as did almost everyone else, and waited for the story to begin.

A/N: I am so, so sorry that this chapter is so short, but I want each chapter in the House of Hades to have its own chapter in this story. The next chapter should be longer. Please review!


	8. Annabeth VIII

Disclaimer: Not own Percy Jackson, all rights go to Rick Riordan

 **Bold Text** is by Rick Riordan

A/N: A few people have reminded me that the Battle of the Labyrinth was published in 2007. I am aware of this. The reason why I am saying that Percy and Annabeth went back in time to 2014 is because of the fact that the House of Hades was published in 2013, six years after the Battle of the Labyrinth was published. Percy and Annabeth are only going back three years, not six. I made it so that they are from 2017 because I thought that it would be easier to identify with. If Percy and Annabeth were from 2013, and decided to go back to 2010, for everyone reading this it is 2017, so 2013 _is_ the past, and I would like for Percy and Annabeth to be going into the past from the present. Also, someone reminded me that Percy and Annabeth are 15, not 14, so I'm sorry for making that mistake. But since it is already written that they went back 3 years, not two, I am just going to leave it as it is. But thank you to those people who reminded me. It's appreciated.

 **"Hazel I,** " Athena started.

Hazel paled. Well, she seemed to pale. It's hard to tell with someone when you can see right through them to the wall behind her head.

 **"During the third attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder. She was peering into the fog... when the alarm bells sounded.**

 **'Hard to port!' Nico yelled from the foremast...**

"Where _is_ Nico?" I said. "He is in the book, he should be here."

"Well..." Athena started, "Chaos just said that we had to have these people here," she gestured to the demigods, "but the note never said anything about not being able to bring in additional people."

Hades snapped his fingers.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly there was a very confused looking, younger version of Nico di Angelo.

Percy stood up, and pulled him of to the side, explaining.

 **...Leo yanked the wheel. The Argo II veered left."**

"Wait, wait, wait." Conner said.

"Hold you centaurs." Travis continued. "What the hel-"

"Hades," Conner interrupted, "has happened so far?"

 _Percy_ looked at me, obviously thinking that I should be the one to explain.

I stood up. "After the Second Titan War (we won, by the way), our Oracle of Delphi gave us a prophecy.

 _Seven Half-Bloods shall answer the call,_

 _to Storm or Fire the world must fall_ -

 _"An oath to keep with the final breath,_

 _and foes bear arms at the Doors of Death."_ Reyna finished for me. "We've had that prophecy for a while now."

I felt my eyebrows raised as I nodded, before continuing my story. "Yes, that prophecy. About two months after the War ended, both Percy and Jason disappeared. _Hera_ ," I glared accusingly at her. She seemed to shrink back a bit at first before sitting forward and glaring back, "sensing trouble, had the _brilliant_ idea of introducing the two demigod camps to each other. Her way of doing that was kidnapping the two people whom the camps saw as leaders," I gestured to Percy and Jason, "them having been the ones to stop Kiros and Kronos, wipe there memories, and put them in opposite camps. Jason was the first one to appear, with two unclaimed demigods - Piper Mclean and Leo Valdez. Long story short, Jason, Piper, and Leo went on a quest to free Hera, who had been kidnapped by a Giant. Percy appeared four months later with Lupa. He trained with her before arriving at Camp Jupiter two months later. Another long story short, he went on a quest with Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque-"

"Hazels dead." Octavian stated pompously.

"Percy went on a quest with Hazel and Frank," I continued, ignoring him, "to free Thantos. Souls had recently been freed, people had come back to life like Medas, Medea, and _Hazel_ ," I said, answering his statement, "the only difference being that Medas and Medea, and many others, had been brought back by Gaea, unlike Hazel, who was brought back by her brother, Nico di Angelo." Everyone looked over at Nico, who had blushed under the attention.

"I joined them when they returned, along with Jason, Piper, and Leo, on the Argo II, a flying ship that was built for this quest. Together we make up the Seven of the prophecy. After that we began to head to Greece, because Gaea is planning on awakening there. We were in Rome when... well, I am sure the book will tell."

I gestured to my mother to continue.

Athena cleared her throat.

 **"The Argo II veered left. Hazel made the mistake of looking over the rail... _Why is the moon coming at us?..._ she yelped and hit the deck. The huge rock passed so close overhead it blew her hair out of her face.**

 ** _CRACK!_**

 **The foremast collapsed... Nico crashing to the deck."**

Young Nico winced.

 **"The boulder... tumbled off into the fog...**

 **'Nico!' Hazel scrambled over to him...**

 **'I'm fine,' Nico muttered..."**

Nico scrunched his eyebrows, surprised that someone cared that much about him. He hadn't let anyone since Bianca had...

 **...She helped him up, and they stumbled to the bow. Hazel peered over more carefully this time. The clouds parted just enough to reveal the top of the mountains be low them: a spearhead of black rock jutting from mossy green slopes. Standing at the summit was a mountain god -one of the _numina montanum,_ Jason had called them. Or _ourae_ , in Greek...**

 **Like the others they had faced, this one wore a simple white tunic over skin as rough and dark as basalt. He was about twenty feet tall and extremely muscular...**

 **The scene disappeared into the fog...**

 **'Stupid rock gods,' Leo yelled from the helm. 'That's the _third_ time I've had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?'"**

"Masts _are_ from trees," Nico said, frowning.

 **Nico frowned. "Masts _are_ from trees."**

Everyone chuckled, amused at the similarities, while Nico blushed.

 **"'That's not the point!' Leo snatched up one of his controls, rigged from a Nintendo Wii stick, and spun it in a circle. A few feet away... A Celestial bronze cannon rose."**

"Cool!" a few people said, Beckendorf had gotten out some paper (from where, I don't know) and already was sketching out some plans.

 **Hazel just had enough time to cover her ears before it discharged into the sky...**

 **A moment later, a series of explosions crackled across the mountains...**

 **"Ha," Leo yelled...**

 **Another boulder whistled through the air...**

 **Nico yelled, 'Get us out of here!'...**

 **Hazel didn't relax until they were out of the mountains."**

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was it really like that?" asked Silena

"We assume so," _Percy_ claimed, "we, ah, we weren't exactly here for this."

"Why not?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure it will come up in the book soon." I said, trying to block out the memories by curling into Percy's side.

Poseidon gave us a weird look while Athena, looking at us, seemed to be trying to figure out some puzzle. _They don't know we're dating_ , I realized.

 **"Hazel didn't relax until they were out of the mountains... Below them, morning sunlight illuminated the Italian countryside... Hazel could almost imagine she was sailing home to Camp Jupiter.**

 **The thought weighed on her chest. Camp Jupiter had only been her home for nine months, since Nico had brought her back from the Underworld. But she missed it more than her birth place of New Orleans, and definitely more then Alaska, where she had died back in 1942."**

"You lived in Alaska?" asked Hermes, "Outside of the gods domain?"

"My mom hated the gods," said Hazel quietly, "She though being in Alaska would be better. It wasn't."

A few people looked a bit disturbed at this

 **...she wanted to feel safe. She was tired of being scared and worried all of the time...**

 **'Well, that was sucktastic.' Leo said. 'Should I wake the others?'**

 **Hazel was tempted to say yes, but the other crew members had taken the night shift and had earned there rest...**

 **A few weeks ago, Hazel wouldn't have believed that anyone could sleep through a _numina_ attack, but now she imagined her friends were snoring away below decks. Whenever _she_ got the chance to crash, she slept like a coma patient.**

 **"They need rest." she said. "We'll have to figure this out another way on our own.'**

 **'Huh.' Leo scowled at his monitor. In his tattered work shirt and grease splattered jeans, he looked like he'd just lost a wrestling match with a locomotive.**

 **Ever since their friends Percy and Annabeth...**

Everyone sat up, listening attentively.

 **"... had fallen into Tartarus-"**

"What!?" Everyone exclaimed, Athena even interrupting herself.

A/N: Sorry, but this is only halfway through **Hazel I.** I'll finish the rest in the next chapter. Please comment!


	9. Percy IX

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series

A/N: When reading the book, the "..." are there to show where word are in the book that I haven't written in this. I'm just writing down the gist of the House of Hades, I'm not re-typing the entire book. I'm just writing down enough for it to make sense of what is in the House of Hades.

 _ **Ever since their friends Percy and Annabeth...**_

 _Everyone sat up, listening attentively._

 _ **"... had fallen into Tartarus-**_

 _"What!?" Everyone exclaimed, Athena even interrupting herself._

"You fell in-!?" Michael said.

"How are you-!?" exclaimed Grover.

"Alive!?" Everyone asked.

 _Annabeth_ and I looked at each other.

"Honestly," Annabeth started.

"We have no idea." I finished.

There was a silence before Apollo spoke up.

"You were in there still," he said, "but Chaos pulled you out, right? And brought you here"

"One second we were fighting some _arai_ , the next I see this flash of light, and then I wake up in your infirmary." I said. "Why Chaos chose to do it, we have no idea. Maybe Chaos decided to have mercy on us?"

 _"Arai,_ are curse spirits, and Apollo and Asclepius said that you were poised with gorgons blood, but that it was a miracle how fast you recovered. That's because you weren't poisoned with gorgons blood. You poisoned someone else with gorgons blood and they cursed you with the same fate, so when you killed the _arai_..." Athena reasoned.

I nodded. "What we don't know is why Chaos chose to do it, we have no idea. Maybe Chaos decided to have mercy on us?"

"What else happened down there?" Frank said, speaking for the first time since he had introduced himself.

 _Annabeth_ and I looked at each other, before looking down.

"We would rather not talk about it." she said.

We looked at Athena, silently asking her to continue the book.

 **"Ever since there friends, Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, Leo had been working almost nonstop. He'd been angrier and even more driven than usual.**

 **Hazel worried about him. But a part of her was relieved by the change. When ever Leo smiled and joked, he looked too much like Sammy, his great-grandfather... Hazel's first boyfriend, back in 1942."**

Everyone turned to look at Hazel. She was looking utterly shocked. She turned to Leo and said,

"Sammy was you great-grandfather?"

"I...," Leo started, "I have no idea. I mean I don't know who my great-grandfather was. I think my grandfathers name was Sammy Jr., which would mean that there had to be a Sammy Sr., which who was probably a kid around 1942, and who would probably be my great-grandfather..." he trailed off. "Wait a second," he shot out of his seat, looking directly at Hazel for the first time, "you dated my great-grandfather?!"

Hazel shrunk back, "I guess?" She laughed nervously.

"Lets just get back to the book." I said.

Hazel shot me a grateful look.

 **"...'It's our fault,' Hazel said. 'Nico's and mine. The** _ **numina**_ **can sense us.'**

 **She glanced at her half-brother. Since they'd rescued him from the giants-"**

"I was kidnapped by giants!' Nico shouted.

"Long story." Annabeth and I chorused.

 **"Since they'd rescued him from the giants, he'd started to regain his strength, but he was still painfully thin. His black shirt and jeans hung off his skeletal frame, Long dark hair framed his sunken eyes. His olive complexion had turned a sickly greenish white, like the color of tree sap"**

Nico winced.

 **"In human years, he was barely fourteen, just a year older than Hazel, but that didn't tell the whole story. Like Hazel, Nico di Angelo was from another era. He radiated the same kind of old energy -a melancholy that came from knowing that he didn't belong in the modern world...**

 **Nico gripped the hilt of his Stygian iron sword. "Earth spirits don't like children of theUnderworld. That's true. We get under their skin— literally But I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. We're carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon."**

"The Athena Parthenos?" Everyone asked.

Athena looked shocked.

 _Annabeth_ looked at her before saying, "I followed the Mark of Athena," she paused, and her mother looked like she was about to bow down to apologizing, but _Annabeth_ continued before she could, "And I succeeded. The cavern where Archane was living had collapsed. The rest of the Seven were securing the Athena Parthenos when I realized that my leg was caught in a cobweb that pulled me down to Tartarus. Percy didn't let me fall alone."

She glared at everyone, daring them to say something. They were all to busy sitting in shocked silence to notice.

 **"Hazel shivered, thinking of the massive statue that took up most of the hold. They'd sacrificed so much saving it from the cavern under Rome; but they had no idea what to do with it. So far the only thing it seemed to be good for was alerting more monsters to their presence.**

 **Leo traced his finger down the map of Italy. "So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is, they go along way in either direction."**

 **"We could go by sea," Hazel suggested. "Sail around the southern tip of Italy."**  
 **"That's a long way," Nico said. "Plus, we don't have..." His voice cracked. "You know...oursea expert, Percy."**

 **The name hung in the air like an impending storm.**

 **Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon...probably the demigod Hazel admired most. "**

I blushed

 **He'd saved her life so many times on their quest to Alaska; but when he had needed Hazel's help in Rome, she'd failed him. She'd watched, powerless, as he and Annabeth had plunged into that pit.**

I started to shake my head wanting to tell her that it wasn't her fault, but Hazel wasn't here.

 **Hazel took a deep breath. Percy and Annabeth were still alive. She knew that in her heart. She could still help them if she could get to the House of Hades, if she could survive the challenge Nico had warned her about...**

 **"What about continuing north?" she asked. "There has to be a break in the mountains, or something."**

 **Leo fiddled with the bronze Archimedes sphere that he'd installed on the console—his newest and most dangerous toy..."**

Beckendorf nearly fell out of his chair when he heard that.

 **"..."I dunno." Leo examined the hologram. "I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome."**

 **No one argued with that. Rome had not been a good experience.**

 **"Whatever we do," Nico said, "we have to hurry. Every day that Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus..."**

Everyone winced. Nobody noticed the look in Annabeth's eyes, which most likely mirrored my own. Absolute terror.

 **"He didn't need to finish. They had to hope Percy and Annabeth could survive long enough to find the Tartarus side of the Doors of Death. Then, assuming the Argo II could reach the House of Hades, they might be able to open the Doors on the mortal side, save their friends, and seal the entrance, stopping Gaea's forces from being reincarnated in the mortal world over and over."**

I think everyone was just starting to realize how bad it really was.

 **"Yes...nothing could go wrong with that plan.**

 **Nico scowled at the Italian countryside below them. "Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects us all."**

 **"No," Hazel said. "We can find a solution."**

 **She wasn't sure why she felt so strongly about it, but since leaving Rome, the crew had started to lose its cohesion. They'd been learning to work as a team. Then bam ...their two most important members fell into Tartarus. Percy had been their backbone. He'd given them confidence as they sailed across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. As for Annabeth—she'd been the de facto leader of the quest. She'd recovered the Athena Parthenos single-handedly. She was the smartest of the seven, the one with the answers."**

This time Annabeth blushed along with me.

 **"If Hazel woke up the rest of the crew every time they had a problem, they'd just start arguing again, feeling more and more hopeless. She had to make Percy and Annabeth proud of her. She had to take the initiative-"**

Athena was interrupted by a knock at the door.

We all looked at each other. Everyone that Chaos had asked for was here, and no one comes onto Olympus and knocks on the Throne Room door, especially because Zeus had announced that the Olympians were in a meeting and were to not be disturbed. After a few seconds we all pulled out our weapons aiming them at the door.

Zeus gestured to Hermes, who was the closet Olympian to the door, to open it.

A girl, around 14, with chocolate colored skin, frizzy brown hair, and who was definitely not transparent walked in.

 _"Hazel?!"_


	10. Annabeth X

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

A/N: IMPORTANT. I will most likely not be able to update every day. I will still be updating several times a week, though.

* * *

 _Athena was interrupted by a knock at the door._

 _Zeus gestured to Hermes, who was the closet Olympian to the door, to open it._

 _A girl, around 14, with chocolate colored skin, frizzy brown hair, and who was definitely not transparent walked in._

 _"Hazel?!"_ _Percy_ and I said together. We both ran up to her, asking what happened

 _Hazel_ looked around wide eyed.

"I was... I was having a dream," she stammered, "something about Pasiphae... and then there was a flash of light, and then I was here, and... and..." she paused, before looking at both of us, and then looking at everyone else. "What is going on?" She suddenly took a step back, having seen younger versions of the seven.

"We're in the past, 2014," Isaid, "Chaos sent us here. Something about making the wars 'less drastic'?"

"And that's..." she trailed off, pointing at her younger soul-self.

 _Percy_ and I nodded.

Hades spoke from where he was sitting in the corner, "How are you alive."

It wasn't a question, so much as it was an order.

"I was brought back to life. In 2017, the Doors of Death are open, and Thantos was kidnapped. He has been rescued, but before he was there were a lot of escaped souls from the Underworld. What's happened so far?" That last question was directed at me and _Percy._

I caught her up on what had happened since we got here. Athena soon started again.

 **She had to make Percy and Annabeth proud of her. She had to take the initiative. She couldn't believe her only role in this quest would be what Nico had warned her of—removing the obstacle waiting for them in the House of Hades. She pushed the thought**

 **aside.**

 **I looked at _Hazel._ She seemed very determined not to return the look, so I put a hand on her shoulder. When her eyes met mine, I smiled. She smiled back.**

 **"We need some creative thinking," she said. "Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."**

 **Nico sighed. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport myself anymore."**

"What happened?" Hades said, directing the question at _Hazel, Percy_ and myself. "The book mentioned before that he looked sick, and now it says that he can't do shadow travel anymore, so what happened."

The three of us looked at each other. _Percy_ and _Hazel_ looked at me, silently ordering me to answer the question.

"Nico was kidnapped by twin giants, and spent some time living in a jar with only pomegranate seeds from the Underworld to eat. That's what kept him alive in the jar, because the jar had very little oxygen."

Everyone looked horrified, while Nico became so pale I could have sworn that I could see the wall right behind him.

 **"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage," Leo said, "like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds."**

"Cool." Beckendorf muttered to himself.

 **He didn't sound very enthusiastic.**

 **Hazel stared down at the rolling farmland, thinking about what lay beneath it—the realm of her father, lord of the Underworld. She'd only met Pluto once, and she hadn't even realized who he was. She certainly had never expected help from him—not when she was alive the first time, not during her time as a spirit in the Underworld, not since Nico had brought her back to the world of the living**.

Everyone glared at Hades. He glared right back.

"I'm one of the gods who helps out there kids the most. If I wasn't helping Hazel, I sure that there is a very reasonable explanation."

 **Her dad's servant Thanatos, god of death, had suggested that Pluto might be doing Hazel a favor by ignoring her. After all, she wasn't supposed to be alive. If Pluto took notice of her, he might have to return her to the land of the dead.**

 **Which meant calling on Pluto would be a very bad idea.**

Hades gave everyone a look, clearly saying I told you so. But I could have sworn that I saw pain and worry flicker on his face. But it was gone so fast that I could have just imagined it.

 **And yet... _Please, Dad,_ she found herself praying. _I have to find a way to your temple in Greece—the House of Hades. If you're down there, show me what to do._**

 **At the edge of the horizon, a flicker of movement caught her eye—something small and beige racing across the fields at incredible speed, leaving a vapor trail like a plane's.**

 _Percy_ and I shot up.

"Is that...?" _Percy_ asked _Hazel._

 _Hazel_ grinned and nodded.

"Is that who?" asked Piper.

We waved her off, gesturing for Athena to continue.

 **Hazel couldn't believe it. She didn't dare hope, but it had to be..."Arion."**

 **"What?" Nico asked.**

 **Leo let out a happy whoop as the dust cloud got closer. "It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"**

"A horse?" Several people muttered.

The three of us grinned at each other.

 **Hazel laughed—the first time she'd laughed in days. It felt so good to see her old friend.**

 **About a mile to the north, the small beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summit. He was difficult to make out, but when the horse reared and whinnied, the sound carried all the way to the Argo II. Hazel had no doubt—it was Arion.**

"Arion is said to be a horse that can run faster than the wind." My past self said. "And, according to the stories, Arion was also a son of Poseidon," She grinned, nudging Percy, who was sitting right next to her, "making him your half-brother." Percy grinned back at her.

 _How were we so oblivious?_ I thought. I looked over at Percy, who grinned at me, apparently thinking the same thing. He grabbed my hand, angling us so no one could see.

 **"We have to meet him," she said. "He's here to help."**

 **"Yeah, okay." Leo scratched his head. "But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."**

 **"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder." Hazel's heart was pounding. "I think Arion wants to tell me something."**

"That's the end of the chapter." Athena said.


	11. Annabeth XI

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson Series, all rights go to Rick Riordan

"Who wants to read next?" Athena asked.

"I will." said Artemis.

Athena got up and handed the book to her.

Artemis cleared her throat before starting.

 **"Hazel had never felt so happy. Well, except for maybe on the night of the victory feast at Camp Jupiter, when she'd kissed Frank for the first time...but this was a close second.**

Hazel blushed.

 **As soon as she reached the ground, she ran to Arion and threw her arms around him. "I missed you!" She pressed her face into the horse's warm neck, which smelled of sea salt and apples. "Where have you been?"**

 **Arion nickered. Hazel wished she could speak Horse like Percy could, but she got the general idea. Arion sounded impatient, as if saying, _No time for sentiment, girl! Come on!_**

"That is probably exactly what he was saying." said Percy.

 **"You want me to go with you?" she guessed.**

 **Arion bobbed his head, trotting in place. His dark brown eyes gleamed with urgency.**

 **Hazel still couldn't believe he was actually here. He could run across any surface, even the sea...**

"Cool." said Michael.

 **...but she'd been afraid he wouldn't follow them into the ancient lands.**

 **The Mediterranean was too dangerous for demigods and their allies.**

"True." Percy, Hazel, and I all said together.

 **He wouldn't have come unless Hazel was in dire need. And he seemed so agitated... Anything that could make a fearless horse skittish should have terrified Hazel.**

 **Instead, she felt elated. She was so tired of being seasick and airsick. Aboard the Argo II, she felt about as useful as a box of ballast. She was glad to be back on solid ground, even if it was Gaea's territory. She was ready to ride.**

 **I looked over to Hazel indeed looked eager to ride as the book said. _Odd_ , I thought.**

"Hazel!" Nico called down from the ship. "What's going on?"

 **"It's fine!" She crouched down and summoned a gold nugget from the earth**.

"Hold on, what?" Apollo asked.

"Um... I can pull precious metals from the Earth," Hazel said, "it's one of the abilities I got from my father."

Apollo raised his eyebrows, impressed.

Hazel asked Artemis to continue.

 **She was getting better at controlling her power. Precious stones hardly ever popped up around her by accident anymore, and pulling gold from the ground was easy.**

 **She fed Arion the nugget...his favorite snack.**

"Your horse eats gold?" Reyna said, raising her eyebrows.

Hazel nodded.

"Of course he does," Reyna muttered quietly, shaking her head.

 **Then she smiled up at Leo and Nico, who were watching her from the top of the ladder a hundred feet above. "Arion wants to take me somewhere."**

 **"Uh..." Leo pointed north. "Please tell me he's not taking you into _that_?"**

"Into what?" Several people asked.

 **Hazel had been so focused on Arion, she hadn't noticed the disturbance. A mile away, on the crest of the next hill, a storm had gathered over some old stone ruins—maybe the remains of a Roman temple or a fortress. A funnel cloud snaked its way down toward the hill like an inky black finger.**

 **A few people looked over to Hazel, pitying her. Hazel glared back, daring them to say anything out loud. I was shocked. Hazel never glared at anyone.**

 **Hazel's mouth tasted like blood.**

Hazel made a face, as if actually tasting blood.

 **She looked at Arion. "You want to go there?"**

 **Arion whinnied, as if to say, _Uh, duh!_ _  
_**

"Your horse is rude." Pollux said

Some people nodded, agreeing with him

"You have no idea." Percy muttered under his breath, quietly enough that I was the only person that heard him.

 **Well...Hazel had asked for help. Was this her dad's answer?**

Hazel shook her head, as if telling herself that it wasn't.

 **She hoped so, but she sensed something besides Pluto at work in that storm...something dark, powerful, and not necessarily friendly.**

 **Still, this was her chance to help her friends—to lead instead of follow.**

"You are a leader Hazel," I told her quietly. "You lead without having to stand and tell people what to do. People trust you, they listen to you."

 **She tightened the straps of her Imperial gold cavalry sword and climbed onto Arion's back.**

 **"I'll be okay!" she called up to Nico and Leo. "Stay put and wait for me."**

 **"Wait for how long?" Nico asked. "What if you don't come back?"**

 **"Don't worry, I will," she promised, hoping it was true.**

 **She spurred Arion, and they shot across the countryside, heading straight for the growing**

 **tornado.**

"That is the end of the chapter." Artemis said.


	12. Percy XII

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, all rights go to Rick Riordan

A/N: I am thinking of starting a new story of Percy Jackson one-shots/crossovers, but I need some idea's/prompts. If you could give me some I would highly appreciate it!

"I'll keep reading." Artemis said

 **THE STORM SWALLOWED THE HILL in a swirling cone of black vapor.**

"What is it?" Beckendorf said

 **Arion charged straight into it.**

"Smart." Clarisse said sarcastically.

 **Hazel found herself at the summit, but it felt like a different dimension. The world lost its color. The walls of the storm encircled the hill in murky black. The sky churned gray. The crumbling ruins were bleached so white, they almost glowed. Even Arion had turned from caramel brown to a dark shade of ash.**

"Cool!" Travis said. Everyone turned around to look at him.

"What?" he said.

"Sereiously?" Connor said, eyebrows raised.

Everyone rolled there eyes, chuckling under there breath.

 **In the eye of the tempest, the air was still. Hazel's skin tingled coolly, as if she'd been rubbed with alcohol. In front of her, an arched gateway led through mossy walls into some sort of enclosure.**

 **Hazel couldn't see much through the gloom, but she felt a presence within, as if she were a chunk of iron close to a large magnet. Its pull was irresistible, dragging her forward.**

Everyone sucked in a breath.

 **Yet she hesitated. She reined in Arion, and he clopped impatiently, the ground crackling under his hooves. Wherever he stepped, the grass, dirt, and stones turned white like frost. Hazel remembered the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska—how the surface had cracked under their feet. She remembered the floor of that horrible cavern in Rome crumbling to dust, plunging Percy and Annabeth into Tartarus.**

Annabeth discreetly grabbed my hand, and we scooted closer together so that no one could see.

She hoped this black-and-white hilltop wouldn't dissolve under her, but she decided it was best to keep moving.

 **"Let's go, then, boy." Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were speaking into a pillow.**

 **Arion trotted through the stone archway. Ruined walls bordered a square courtyard about the size of a tennis court. Three other gateways, one in the middle of each wall, led north, east, and west. In the center of the yard, two cobblestone paths intersected, making a cross. Mist hung in the air— hazy shreds of white that coiled and undulated as if they were alive.**

 **Not mist, Hazel realized. _The Mist._**

"Wait," younger Annabeth said, "you can actually _see_ the mist? I always thought that it was just a term for some invisible force, like the boundaries that guard Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yeah, you can see it," Hazel replied, "it's rare to see it, but when you are around the right... person you can see it."

Younger Annabeth nodded, processing this information.

 **All her life, she'd heard about the Mist—the supernatural veil that obscured the world of myth from the sight of mortals. It could deceive humans, even demigods, into seeing monsters as harmless animals, or gods as regular people.**

 **Hazel had never thought of it as actual smoke, but as she watched it curling around Arion's legs, floating through the broken arches of the ruined courtyard, the hairs stood up on her arms. Somehow she knew: this white stuff was pure magic. In the distance, a dog howled. Arion wasn't usually scared of anything, but he reared, huffing nervously.**

"Alright, now that's creepy." Dakota said.

 **"It's okay." Hazel stroked his neck. "We're in this together. I'm going to get down, all right?"**

 **She slid off Arion's back. Instantly he turned and ran.**

 **"Arion, wai—"**

 **But he'd already disappeared the way he'd come.**

"Wow, such bravery." Rachel said sarcastically.

 **So much for being in this together.**

 **Another howl cut through the air—closer this time.**

 **Hazel stepped toward the center of the courtyard. The Mist clung to her like freezer fog.**

 **"Hello?" she called.**

 **"Hello," a voice answered.**

Everyone sat up in there seats, listening intently.

 **The pale figure of a woman appeared at the northern gateway. No, wait...she stood at the eastern entrance. No, the western. Three smoky images of the same woman moved in unison toward the center of the ruins. Her form was blurred, made from Mist, and she was trailed by two smaller wisps of smoke, darting at her heels like animals. Some sort of pets?**

"What in Hades?!" several people exlaimed.

Hades glared at everyone.

 **She reached the center of the courtyard and her three forms merged into one. She solidified into a young woman in a dark sleeveless gown. Her golden hair was gathered into a high-set ponytail, Ancient Greek style. Her dress was so silky, it seemed to ripple, as if the cloth were ink spilling off her shoulders. She looked no more than twenty, but Hazel knew that meant nothing.**

 **"Hazel Levesque," said the woman.**

 **She was beautiful, but deathly pale. Once, back in New Orleans, Hazel had been forced to attend a wake for a dead classmate. She remembered the lifeless body of the young girl in the open casket. Her face had been made up prettily, as if she were resting, which Hazel had found terrifying.**

 **This woman reminded Hazel of that girl—except the woman's eyes were open and completely black. When she tilted her head, she seemed to break into three different people again...misty afterimages blurring together, like a photograph of someone moving too fast to capture.**

"Yup, this is really creepy." Dakota said, paling.

 **"Who are you?" Hazel's fingers twitched at the hilt of her sword. "I mean...which goddess?"**

 **Hazel was sure of that much. This woman radiated power. Everything around them—the swirling Mist, the monochromatic storm, the eerie glow of the ruins—was because of her presence.**

 **"Ah." The woman nodded. "Let me give you some light."**

 **She raised her hands. Suddenly she was holding two old-fashioned reed torches, guttering with fire. The Mist receded to the edges of the courtyard. At the woman's sandaled feet, the two wispy animals took on solid form. One was a black Labrador retriever. The other was a long, gray, furry rodent with a white mask around its face. A weasel, maybe**.

"Hecate." young Annabeth stated.

Athena looked at her daughter proudly.

 **The woman smiled serenely.**

 **"I am Hecate," she said. "Goddess of magic. We have much to discuss if you're to live through tonight."**

Everyone looked horrified

"And that is the end of the third chapter." Artemis said. "Who wants to re-"

She was interrupted by a knock at the door.

A/N: Please comment!


	13. Percy XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, all rights go to Rick Riordan

A/N: I am so, so, so, so, so sorry! I have not updated for weeks. I have been so busy with school and finals, that this seemed at the bottom of my priority list. I will try to update more often from now on.

We all turned towards the door, as it opened.

"Leo!" Hazel, Annabeth, and I all shouted, standing up and running over.

"Hi?!" He said looking absolutely confused. He the turned to me and Annabeth. His eyes widened.

"Your okay!?" He exclaimed, looking even more confused. "What is going on, how are you alive? What happened? Why are we on Olympus?" He said, spouting out questions.

We quickly caught him up on everything, before sitting down and asking Athena to continue reading.

 **HAZEL WANTED TO RUN, but her feet seemed to be stuck to the white-glazed ground.**

 **On either side of the crossroads, two dark metal torch-stands erupted from the dirt like plant fixed her torches in them, then walked a slow circle around Hazel, regarding her as if theywere partners in some eerie dance.**

 **The black dog and the weasel followed in her wake.**

 **'You are like your mother,' Hecate decided.**

Everyone looked at Hazel in confusion, who ducked her head at the attention.

 **Hazel's throat constricted. 'You knew her?'**

 **'Of course. Marie was a fortune-teller. She dealt in charms and curses and gris-gris. I am thegoddess of magic.'**

Some people raised there eyebrows at this relevation.

 **Those pure black eyes seemed to pull at Hazel, as if trying to extract her soul. During her firstlifetime in New Orleans, Hazel had been tormented by the kids at St Agnes School because of hermother. They'd called Marie Levesque a witch. The nuns had muttered that Hazel's mother wastrading with the Devil.**

 **If the nuns were scared of my mom, Hazel wondered, what would they make of this goddess?**

 **'Many fear me,' Hecate said, as if reading her thoughts. 'But magic is neither good nor evil. It is atool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.'**

 **'My – my mother ...' Hazel stammered. 'She didn't believe in magic. Not really. She was justfaking it, for the money.'**

Hades shook his head in the background.

 **The weasel chittered and bared its teeth. Then it made a squeaking sound from its back end.**

A few of the younger demigods laughed.

 **Underother circumstances, a weasel passing gas might have been funny, but Hazel didn't laugh. Therodent's red eyes glared at her balefully, like tiny coals.**

 **'Peace, Gale,' said Hecate. She gave Hazel an apologetic shrug. 'Gale does not like hearing aboutnonbelievers and con artists. She herself was once a witch, you see.'**

 **'Your weasel was a witch?'**

"Okay, now I'm confused." Younger Leo said. A few people laughed, appreciating the attempt to lighten the mood.

 **'She's a polecat, actually,' Hecate said. 'But, yes – Gale was once a disagreeable human had terrible personal hygiene, plus extreme – ah, digestive issues.' Hecate waved her hand infront of her nose. 'It gave my other followers a bad name.'**

Several people chuckled at this.

 **'Okay.' Hazel tried not to look at the weasel. She really didn't want to know about the rodent'sintestinal problems.'**

 **At any rate,' Hecate said, 'I turned her into a polecat. She's much better as a polecat.'**

 **Hazel swallowed. She looked at the black dog, which was affectionately nuzzling the goddess'shand. 'And your Labrador ...?'**

 **'Oh, she's Hecuba, the former queen of Troy,' Hecate said, as if that should be obvious.**

Dakota, who had been drinking some cool-aid, seemed to choke and spit it all over Gwen at hearing this.

Everyone laughed, while Dakota began apologizing profusely.

 **The dog grunted.**

 **'You're right, Hecuba,' the goddess said. 'We don't have time for long introductions. The point is,Hazel Levesque, your mother may have claimed not to believe, but she had true magic. Eventually,she realized this. When she searched for a spell to summon the god Pluto, I helped her find it.'**

 **'You ...?'**

 **'Yes.' Hecate continued circling Hazel. 'I saw potential in your mother. I see even more potentialin you.'**

Everyone had there eyes on Hazel now. After all, not just everyone could catch the attention of the Goddess of Magic.

 **Hazel's head spun. She remembered her mother's confession just before she had died: how she'd summoned Pluto, how the god had fallen in love with her and how, because of her greedy wish, her daughter Hazel had been born with a curse. Hazel could summon riches from the earth, but anyone who used them would suffer and die.**

A few people scooted away from Hazel. Both the past and present version.

I put my arm around her shoulders when I saw the look of hurt in her eyes. She look at me gratefully.

Both Leo and Annabeth glared at the people who had moved, and I honestly felt a bit bad for anyone at the mercy of their wrath.

 **Now this goddess was saying that she had made all that happen.**

 **'My mother suffered because of that magic. My whole life –' '**

 **Your life wouldn't have happened without me,' Hecate said flatly. 'I have no time for your anger. Neither do you. Without my help, you will die.'**

 **The black dog snarled. The polecat snapped its teeth and passed gas.**

This was awarded with a few more chuckles.

 **Hazel felt like her lungs were filling with hot sand.**

 **'What kind of help?' she demanded.**

 **Hecate raised her pale arms. The three gateways she'd come from – north, east and west – began to swirl with Mist. A flurry of black-and-white images glowed and flickered, like the old silent movies that were still playing in theatres when Hazel was small.**

 **In the western doorway, Roman and Greek demigods in full armour fought one another on a hillside under a large pine tree. The grass was strewn with the wounded and the dying. Hazel saw herself riding Arion, charging through the melee and shouting – trying to stop the violence.**

Everyone seemed to pale at this description.

 **In the gateway to the east, Hazel saw the Argo II plunging through the sky above the Apennines. Its rigging was in flames. A boulder smashed into the quarterdeck. Another punched through the hull. The ship burst like a rotten pumpkin, and the engine exploded.**

At this, people look at the four demigod from the future with a mixture of horror and pity.

 **The images in the northern doorway were even worse. Hazel saw Leo, unconscious – or dead – falling through the clouds. She saw Frank staggering alone down a dark tunnel, clutching his arm, his shirt soaked in blood. And Hazel saw herself in a vast cavern filled with strands of light like a luminous web. She was struggling to break through while, in the distance, Percy and Annabeth lay sprawled and unmoving at the foot of two black-and-silver metal doors.**

No one seemed to know what to think, for it was obvious to them that any outcome would end in disaster.

 **'Choices,' said Hecate. 'You stand at the crossroads, Hazel Levesque. And I am the goddess of crossroads.'**


	14. Annabeth XIV

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

A/N: _**IMPORTANT**_ \- I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while. It isn't because I haven't had much time, but because, (if i'm being honest) **I have absolutely no motivation when it comes to writing this story.** That being said, I know how frustrating it is to find a fanfiction that you like and then suddenly the author just stops writing it. So, _**I WILL BE CONTINUING**_ with this story. **But, if there is anyone who likes this story a lot, and will continue it for me, please contact me**. I will not be handing this story to just anyone, as I have worked really hard on it, but if someone who has written fanfiction's before who I believe can continue this the way it should be continued, feel free to contact me. My requirements aren't strict by any means, all I really want to know is if the person knows how to write well. If it does get adopted, I will post on here who is writing it.

For anyone interested, here is my list of requirements:

-It has to be called "The Unexpected (reading HoH) continued

-You must post it on Wattpad, , and Archive of our own, as I have.

Shouldn't be too hard, right?

"Alright, I think that we should take a break" Athena stated, shutting the book with an audible snap.

I sighed, relieved. I know, I know, it's an odd thing for me to think, but I know that there has to be some chapter on Percy and me in Tartarus, and I am not ready to hear that yet.

The gods had shrunk down to our size, and were now conversing with the other demigods on the ground.

"Thank the gods." Someone said from behind me.

I turned around to see Percy standing right next to me.

"As much as I love reading, i'm not sure I could have stood listening to another page." I said. "I was terrified there was going to be something about us."

"Same." Percy said.

"That sucked." Hazel said, Leo standing next to her.

"Thank the gods I haven't had a chapter about me yet." Leo said.

"Imagine how I felt!" Hazel exlaimed

"You probably will eventually," I said to Leo, "in fact, we all probably will have something from out point of views throughout the book."

We conversed for another few minutes before I told them that I was going to go walk around Olympus. Percy offered to come with, but I declined, needing to clear my head.

I eventually found a secluded spot - a park, of sorts - that overlooked most of Olympus. I sat down in the grass, everything catching up to me.

Ever since we had gotten here, things had been moving like rapid fire. I wake up, go immediately to the throne room where I find out that I am 3 years in the past. I then have barely anytime to do anything but sleep that night, before going straight to New Rome which is all the way across the country, before coming straight back here, meeting another version of myself, and then only starting to read a book that will supposedly tell the future once we get farther in. Not to mention the fact that people from our time keep showing up, and there are definitely more on the way. Just thinking about it is enough to give me a headache.

I'm not sure how much more I can handle. Only a little over a week ago I was on the Argo II flying to go fight the Earth. I mean, I was just in Tartarus, for gods sake. And now I am in the past. Those are three things that I have never had on my bucket list for a reason.

I lay back, thinking, staring at the sky, when and image comes to my mind.

I was in nearly the same setting I was in now, only instead of being on an island floating in the sky overlooking a godly, I was in central park. There was no gods, no camp half-blood. I wasn't a demigod, just a normal human girl whose biggest problem is the next exam I had coming up. There were no titans, or giants, or earth mothers who were trying to destroy the entire world and me being only one of seven people who can stop it.

"Hey, you alright?" Percy said, appearing out of nowhere and laying down next to me.

I nodded, before looking over to him with a raised eyebrow.

As if reading my mind, he chuckled. "I know, I know, you wanted to be alone, but Athena just started to call everyone back and I had a feeling that you would want to know."

I nodded again in thanks, before looking back to the sky, not wanting to get up.

Percy propped himself up on one elbow. "Hey, you sure you're okay?"

I started to nod again before deciding to be honest. "Do you ever wish you weren't a demigod." I say, still staring at the sky.

I hear him hesitate, before replying, "Sometimes. But then I think, that if I wasn't a demigod, I would never have met you. Or Grover, or Jason, or Leo, or Frank, or Hazel, or any of the others. And I most likely wouldn't be the person I am today. And if I had to trade those things for being fully human, I would never in a millennia take up that offer."

I stare at the sky for another second, before looking over to him with a smile.

"How is it that you always know exactly what to say?"

Instead of replying, he just smiles back.

A/N: If you didn't read the beginning authors note (I know that some of you didn't, because if I was reading this story instead of writing it, I would be among you) please do. It is important if you like this story.


	15. Annabeth XV

A/N Surprise, Surprise! A new chapter! Took me FOREVER to write, but its done! I'm trying to get to the Annabeth chapter, and I hope that when I do I will get my motivation back. Also, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN EDITED. Anyway, here is the chapter...

"I'll read now." Aphrodite said, surprising everyone.

"What?" She said, commenting on everyone's raised eyebrows.

"We didn't know you could read." Hermes stated blandly.

Some laughter broke out among the assembled.

Aphrodite glared at him, and he- also surprisingly- shrunk back.

Athena handed over the book, and Aphrodite began.

 **The ground rumbled at Hazel's feet. She looked down and saw the glint of silver coins...thousands of old Roman denarii breaking the surface all around her, as if the entire hilltop was coming to a boil. She'd been so agitated by the visions in the doorways that she must have summoned every bit of silver in the surrounding countryside.**

Hazel figeted in her seat beside me, as if agitated.

 **"The past is close to the surface in this place," Hecate said. "In ancient times, two great Roman roads met here. News was exchanged. Markets were held. Friends met, and enemies fought. Entire armies had to choose a direction. Crossroads are always places of decision."**

 **"Like...like Janus." Hazel remembered the shrine of Janus on Temple Hill back at Camp Jupiter. Demigods would go there to make decisions. They would flip a coin, heads or tails, and hope the two-faced god would guide them well. Hazel had always hated that place. She'd never understood why her friends were so willing to let a god take away their responsibility for choosing. After all Hazel had been through, she trusted the wisdom of the gods about as much as she trusted a New Orleans slot machine.**

The gods looked highly offended by this, some of them even outright glaring at Hazel, but she just stood up straighter.

"How can you not trust our wisdom." Athena began I mean, yes, some gods are unwise." cue the glare at Poseidon, "But I am the goddess of wisdom, and I am wise."

"Not you, Lady Athena." Hazel said. "But most of the others..." she trailed off

 **The goddess of magic made a disgusted hiss. "Janus and his doorways. He would have you believe that all choices are black or white, yes or no, in or out. In fact, it's not that simple. Whenever you reach the crossroads, there are always at least three ways to go...four, if you count going backward. You are at such a crossing now, Hazel."**

"Thats... interesting." Selena said.

 **Hazel looked again at each swirling gateway: a demigod war, the destruction of the Argo II, disaster for herself and her friends. "All the choices are bad."**

There were some huffs of laughter at the statement. Others just looked disturbed.

 **"All choices have risks," the goddess corrected. "But what is your goal?"**

"Her goal?" Lee said.

 **"My goal?" Hazel waved helplessly at the doorways.**

A few more huffs of laughter

 **"None of these."**

At this several people laughed out loud, if only to ease the tension in the air. Hazel was blushing in the background.

 **The dog Hecuba snarled. Gale the polecat skittered around the goddess's feet, farting and gnashing her teeth.**

 **"You could go backward," Hecate suggested, "retrace your steps to Rome...but Gaea's forces are expecting that. None of you will survive."**

"So how is that and option?" Travis said.

 **"So...what are you saying?"**

 **Hecate stepped to the nearest torch. She scooped a handful of fire and sculpted the flames until she was holding a miniature relief map of Italy.**

 **"You could go west." Hecate let her finger drift away from her fiery map. "Go back to America with your prize, the Athena Parthenos. Your comrades back home, Greek and Roman, are on the brink of war. Leave now, and you might save many lives."  
**  
"Might." Young Percy deadpanned. "'Might' isn't good enough."

Several people nodded in agreement.

 **"Might," Hazel repeated. "But Gaea is supposed to wake in Greece. That's where the giants are gathering."**

 **"True. Gaea has set the date of August first, the Feast of Spes, goddess of hope, for her rise to power. By waking on the Day of Hope, she intends to destroy all hope forever. Even if you reached Greece by then, could you stop her? I do not know." Hecate traced her finger along the tops of the fiery Apennines. "You could go east, across the mountains, but Gaea will do anything to stop you from crossing Italy. She has raised her mountain gods against you."**

 **"We noticed," Hazel said.  
**  
At this several more people laughed, Hazel among them, realizing the bluntness of her statements.

 **"Any attempt to cross the Apennines will mean the destruction of your ship. Ironically, this might be the safest option for your crew. I foresee that all of you would survive the explosion. It is possible, though unlikely, you could still reach Epirus and close the Doors of Death. You might find Gaea and prevent her rise. But by then, both demigod camps would be destroyed. You would have no home to return to." Hecate smiled. "More likely, the destruction of your ship would strand you in the mountains. It would mean the end of your quest, but it would spare you and your friends much pain and suffering in the days to come. The war with the giants would have to be won or lost without you."**

"So option two is also not a good option." Connor said.

Nobody reacted, as everyone began realizing the direness of the situation.

 **Won or lost without us.**

 **A small, guilty part of Hazel found that appealing. She'd been wishing for the chance to be a normal girl. She didn't want any more pain or suffering for herself and her friends. They'd already been through so much.**

Hazel looked down at this, ashamed.

"It's not just you." _Percy_ said from beside me. "I've had thoughts like that more times that I care to admit. But as long as you don't act on them, they do not harm."

Athena raised her eyebrows at the Son of Poseidon's wise words.

I discrealy grabbed his hand, and we angled ourselves so that our intertwined fongers wouldn't be noticed by anyone.

 **She looked behind Hecate at the middle gateway. She saw Percy and Annabeth sprawled helplessly before those black-and-silver doors. A massive dark shape, vaguely humanoid, now loomed over them, its foot raised as if to crush Percy.**

Everyone sucked in a breath, looking at us with pity in there eyes. _Percy's_ grip on my hand tightened.

 **"What about them?" Hazel asked, her voice ragged. "Percy and Annabeth?"**

 **Hecate shrugged. "West, east, or south...they die."**

I looked down at this, my shoulders sagging. Out of all of the challenge's that I have faced, holding onto hope has always been the hardest.

Percy squeezed my hand reassuringly.

 **"Not an option," Hazel said.**

Everyone nodded wholeheartedly, agreeing with her statement.

 **"Then you have only one path, though it is the most dangerous."**

"Of course it is." I muttered

 **Hecate's finger crossed her miniature Apennines, leaving a glowing white line in the red flames. "There is a secret pass here in the north, a place where I hold sway, where Hannibal once crossed when he marched against Rome."**

 **The goddess made a wide loop...to the top of Italy, then east to the sea, then down along the western coast of Greece. "Once through the pass, you would travel north to Bologna, and then to Venice. From there, sail the Adriatic to your goal, here: Epirus in Greece."**

 **Hazel didn't know much about geography. She had no idea what the Adriatic Sea was like. She'd never heard of Bologna, and all she knew about Venice was vague stories about canals and gondolas. But one thing was obvious. "That's so far out of the way."  
**  
Athena was staring off into space, as if trying to find another plan.

 **"Which is why Gaea will not expect you to take this route," Hecate said. "I can obscure your progress somewhat, but the success of your journey will depend on you, Hazel Levesque. You must learn to use the Mist."**

Both Percy and I looked at Hazel with questions in our eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't notice, lost in thought.

 **"Me?" Hazel's heart felt like it was tumbling down her rib cage. "Use the Mist how?"**

 **Hecate extinguished her map of Italy. She flicked her hand at the black dog Hecuba. Mist collected around the Labrador until she was completely hidden in a cocoon of white. The fog cleared with an audible poof! Where the dog had stood was a disgruntled-looking black kitten with golden eyes.**

 **"Mew," it complained.**

"Aww." A few people said.

"Awesome." said another.

 **"I am the goddess of the Mist," Hecate explained. "I am responsible for keeping the veil that separates the world of the gods from the world of mortals. My children learn to use the Mist to their advantage, to create illusions or influence the minds of mortals. Other demigods can do this as well. And so must you, Hazel, if you are to help your friends."**

 **"But..." Hazel looked at the cat. She knew it was actually Hecuba, the black Labrador, but she couldn't convince herself. The cat seemed so real. "I can't do that."**

 **"Your mother had the talent," Hecate said.**

"She did?" I asked Hazel.

"She did." Hazel confermed.

 **"You have even more. As a child of Pluto who has returned from the dead, you understand the veil between worlds better than most. You can control the Mist. If you do not...well, your brother Nico has already warned you. The spirits have whispered to him, told him of your future. When you reach the House of Hades, you will meet a formidable enemy. She cannot be overcome by strength or sword. You alone can defeat her, and you will require magic."**

 **Hazel's legs felt wobbly. She remembered Nico's grim expression, his fingers digging into her arm. She couldn't tell the others. Not yet. Their courage is already stretched to the limit.**

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Hazel legs wobble.

 **"Who?" Hazel croaked. "Who is this enemy?"**

 **"I will not speak her name," Hecate said. "That would alert her to your presence before you are ready to face her. Go north, Hazel. As you travel, practice summoning the Mist. When you arrive in Bologna, seek out the two dwarfs. They will lead you to a treasure that may help you survive in the House of Hades."**

 **"I don't understand."**

 **"Mew," the kitten complained.**

A few people cooed again at this.

 **"Yes, yes, Hecuba." The goddess flicked her hand again, and the cat disappeared. The black Labrador was back in its place.**

 **"You will understand, Hazel," the goddess promised. "From time to time, I will send Gale to check on your progress."**

 **The polecat hissed, its beady red eyes full of malice.  
**  
"Wonderful." Gwen said sarcastically.

 **"Wonderful," Hazel muttered.**

Gwen and Hazel looked over at eachother and smiled.

 **"Before you reach Epirus, you must be prepared," Hecate said. "If you succeed, then perhaps we will meet again...for the final battle."**

 **A final battle, Hazel thought. Oh, joy.**

Everyone seemed to be thinking similar thoughts.

 **Hazel wondered if she could prevent the revelations she saw in the Mist—Leo falling through the sky; Frank stumbling through the dark, alone and gravely wounded; Percy and Annabeth at the mercy of a dark giant.**

 **She hated the gods' riddles and their unclear advice. She was starting to despise crossroads.  
**  
"Aren't we all."

It was surprisingly Artemis that said this.

 **"Why are you helping me?" Hazel demanded. "At Camp Jupiter, they said you sided with the Titans in the last war."**

"What?!" Zeus roared.

I shot up before shouting.

"Lord Zeus!"

His eyes snapped to me, lightning crackling in his beard.

"You cannot punish people for things they have not done yet. Hecate, as of this time, is innocent."

I glared at Zeus.

He begrudgingly sat down, the lightning in his beard ceasing.

 **Hecate's dark eyes glinted. "Because I am a Titan—daughter of Perses and Asteria. Long before the Olympians came to power, I ruled the Mist. Despite this, in the First Titan War, millennia ago, I sided with Zeus against Kronos. I was not blind to Kronos's cruelty. I hoped Zeus would prove a better king."**

 **She gave a small, bitter laugh. "When Demeter lost her daughter Persephone, kidnapped by your father, I guided Demeter through the darkest night with my torches, helping her search. And when the giants rose the first time, I again sided with the gods. I fought my archenemy Clytius, made by Gaea to absorb and defeat all my magic."**

 **"Clytius." Hazel had never heard that name—Clai-tee-us—but saying it made her limbs feel heavy. She glanced at the images in the northern doorway—the massive dark shape looming over Percy and Annabeth. "Is he the threat in the House of Hades?"**

 **"Oh, he waits for you there," Hecate said. "But first you must defeat the witch. Unless you manage that..."**

 **She snapped her fingers, and all of the gateways turned dark. The Mist dissolved, the images gone.**

"That's terrifying." Clarisse said. Everyone looked at her.

"What?" She said, confused.

Everyone just shook their heads and gestured for Aphrodite to continue.

 **"We all face choices," the goddess said. "When Kronos arose the second time, I made a mistake. I supported him. I had grown tired of being ignored by the so-called major gods. Despite my years of faithful service, they mistrusted me, refused me a seat in their hall..."**

I saw _Percy_ glaring at the gods, but likely no one noticed.

 **The polecat Gale chittered angrily.**

 **"It does not matter anymore." The goddess sighed. "I have made peace again with Olympus. Even now, when they are laid low—their Greek and Roman personas fighting each other—I will help them. Greek or Roman, I have always been only Hecate. I will assist you against the giants, if you prove yourself worthy. So now it is your choice, Hazel Levesque. Will you trust me...or will you shun me, as the Olympian gods have done too often?"**

"Why not just help her?" Pollux said, confused.

"Because she is a goddess." _Percy_ replied, as if it answered everything.

 **Blood roared in Hazel's ears. Could she trust this dark goddess, who'd given her mother the magic that ruined her life? Sorry, no. She didn't much like Hecate's dog or her gassy polecat, either.**  
 **  
But she also knew she couldn't let Percy and Annabeth die.**

Athena and Poseidon nodded at Hazel approvingly, then glared at each other for having the same response.

 **"I'll go north," she said. "We'll take your secret pass through the mountains."**

 **Hecate nodded, the slightest hint of satisfaction in her face. "You have chosen well, though the path will not be easy. Many monsters will rise against you. Even some of my own servants have sided with Gaea, hoping to destroy your mortal world."**

 **The goddess took her double torches from their stands. "Prepare yourself, daughter of Pluto. If you succeed against the witch, we will meet again."**

 **"I'll succeed," Hazel promised. "And Hecate? I'm not choosing one of your paths. I'm making my own."**

"Good for you, girl." Artemis said.

Everyone looked at Hazel impressed.

But instead of shying away from the attention, like I expected her to, she merely sat up straighter and nodded to Artemis in thanks.

 **The goddess arched her eyebrows. Her polecat writhed, and her dog snarled.**

 **"We're going to find a way to stop Gaea," Hazel said. "We're going to rescue our friends from Tartarus. We're going keep the crew and the ship together, and we're going to stop Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood from going to war. We're going to do it all."**

Hazel was simmering beside me.

 **The storm howled, the black walls of the funnel cloud swirling faster.**

 **"Interesting," Hecate said, as if Hazel were an unexpected result in a science experiment. "That would be magic worth seeing."**

 **A wave of darkness blotted out the world. When Hazel's sight returned, the storm, the goddess, and her minions were gone. Hazel stood on the hillside in the morning sunlight, alone in the ruins except for Arion, who paced next to her, nickering impatiently.**

 **"I agree," Hazel told the horse. "Let's get out of here."**

"That is one smart horse." Someone commented.

 **"What happened?" Leo asked as Hazel climbed aboard the Argo II.**

 **Hazel's hands still shook from her talk with the goddess.**

I could see Hazel's hands shaking. She clenched them into fists in an effort to stop them.

 _Interesting,_ I thought.

 **She glanced over the rail and saw the dust of Arion's wake stretching across the hills of Italy. She had hoped her friend would stay, but couldn't blame him for wanting to get away from this place as fast as possible.**

"Yup, that's a really smart horse." someone said again.

 **The countryside sparkled as the summer sun hit the morning dew. On the hill, the old ruins stood white and silent—no sign of ancient paths, or goddesses, or farting weasels.**

The audience laughed at this.

 **"Hazel?" Nico asked.**

 **Her knees buckled. Nico and Leo grabbed her arms and helped her to the steps of the foredeck. She felt embarrassed, collapsing like some fairy-tale damsel, but her energy was gone.**

Hazel sagged beside me. I quickly caught her.

"Hazel?!" I said.

Everyone looked my way.

She looked at me wearily, as if... as if all of her energy was gone.

Apollo rushed over, putting a hand on her head, before assesing her.

He frowned. "There is nothing wrong with her."

"I think..." I started, praying I was wrong. "I think we feel what the book describes happens to us."

Everyone stared at me.

"Think about it." I urged. "Chaos specifically told us that we had to read _every_ word. Why else would Chaos say that. And Hazel," I faced her, "you have been feeling all of the sensations this book has described about you right?"

"I suppose.." She said.

"By my future self fell from a mast." Nico said. "And I didn't feel anything."

"Maybe... Maybe that's because it only affects those of us from 2017."

It was all coming together.

"But, you guys said you were in Tartarus, so..." Piper trailed off.

"We have to relive all of the pain we have already experienced."

Everyone was looking at us with a mixture of pity and horror.

After a few minutes, all the while processing the recently uncovered information, we gestured for Aphrodite to continue.

 **The memory of those glowing scenes at the crossroads filled her with dread.**

 **"I met Hecate," she managed.**

 **She didn't tell them everything. She remembered what Nico had said: Their courage is already stretched to the limit. But she told them about the secret northern pass through the mountains, and the detour Hecate described that could take them to Epirus.  
**  
 **When she was done, Nico took her hand. His eyes were full of concern. "Hazel, you met Hecate at a crossroads. That's...that's something many demigods don't survive. And the ones who do survive are never the same. Are you sure you're—"**

 **"I'm fine," she insisted.**

"I am feeling better now." She said, easing off me.

 **But she knew she wasn't. She remembered how bold and angry she'd felt, telling the goddess she'd find her own path and succeed at everything. Now her boast seemed ridiculous. Her courage had abandoned her.**

It seemed that the longer this chapter went one, the more people's shoulders sagged.

 **"What if Hecate is tricking us?" Leo asked. "This route could be a trap."**

Athena nodded, having been thinking the same thing.

 **Hazel shook her head. "If it was a trap, I think Hecate would've made the northern route sound tempting. Believe me, she didn't."**

Athena nodded again, also believing this.

 **Leo pulled a calculator out of his tool belt and punched in some numbers. "That's...something like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice. Then we'd have to backtrack down the Adriatic. And you said something about baloney dwarfs?"**

There were a few chuckles at this, but only to help break the tension.

 **"Dwarfs in Bologna," Hazel said. "I guess Bologna is a city. But why we have to find dwarfs there...I have no idea. Some sort of treasure to help us with the quest."**

 **"Huh," Leo said. "I mean, I'm all about treasure, but—"**

 **"It's our best option." Nico helped Hazel to her feet. "We have to make up for lost time, travel as fast as we can. Percy's and Annabeth's lives might depend on it."**

People glanced over at me and _Percy_.

 **"Fast?" Leo grinned. "I can do fast."**

 **He hurried to the console and started flipping switches.**

 **Nico took Hazel's arm and guided her out of earshot. "What else did Hecate say? Anything about—"**

 **"I can't." Hazel cut him off. The images she'd seen had almost overwhelmed her: Percy and Annabeth helpless at the feet of those black metal doors, the dark giant looming over them, Hazel herself trapped in a glowing maze of light, unable to help.**  
 **  
You must defeat the witch, Hecate had said. You alone can defeat her. Unless you manage that...**  
 **  
The end, Hazel thought. All gateways closed. All hope extinguished.**

 **Nico had warned her. He'd communed with the dead, heard them whispering hints about their future. Two children of the Underworld would enter the House of Hades. They would face an impossible foe. Only one of them would make it to the Doors of Death.**

 **Hazel couldn't meet her brother's eyes.**

 **"I'll tell you later," she promised, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "Right now, we should rest while we can. Tonight, we cross the Apennines."**

"Done." Aphrodite said.

A/N: DONE... finally. That took FOREVER. Though on the plus side, it was my longest chapter yet (Over 3,500 words.)

And please comment, it makes all of my hard work worth it, hearing your feed back.

And just as something to look forward two, the next HoH chapter is from Annabeth's POV...


	16. Aphrodite XVI

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan. Bolded text (except for authors note) was written by Rick Riordan, not me.

A/N: Hi. So, I'm not dead, though due to the fact that I haven't written since April, I can see why you would have though I was. Just something to no about me- I have no interest in the Percy Jackson series anymore. I am only writing this story because of how hard I have worked on it and because I feel bad because I am almost to Tartarus and I know that is what everyone is waiting for. This probably wont be my last chapter, but please don't expect a chapter anytime soon after this. If this one gets a lot of good feedback, then I probably will.

 **PLEASE READ!**

 **Now, I know that people who are readers don't understand the time and effort it takes to write this. I know that, because before I started writing, I always got mad at an author when they didn't update.** **It is you comments that makes it worth it. To know that people are actually reading my storing and liking it is a amazing. So I know writing a comment seems like "too much work" or something, but please take the time to give me feed back.** **Even something as simple as "Great!" or "I love this" or "*some sort of feedback, either positive, or _politely_ constructive*" would mean the world to me.**

Also, please pay attention to the fact that this is in Aphrodite's POV. I've decided to start playing around with perspectives. Please tell me if you like it. **  
**

While the other gods bickered about who would read next, I decided to flip to another page. I scanned it, and sucked in a breath, thinking back to the revelation that was made during the last chapter. I had a feeling that _Perseus_ and _Ms. Chase_ wouldn't like the turn the story was about to take. They were about to re-experience hell, which is something I would curse someone to once, let alone twice.

Apollo, who was sitting to my right, was oddly quiet. I guessed he had looked over my shoulder to scan the page as well.

I leaned over and whispered,

"I think you should sit next to them, see if you can do anything to ease their pain."

Apollo wordlessly nodded, not needing me to specify who "them" was, and silently stood and walked over to _Perseus_ and _Annabeth_ , who looked at him in confusion.

After a few seconds _Annabeth'_ s eyes lit up in realization, which quickly changed to fear. _Perseus_ looked at her questioningly, and she leaned over to whisper in his ear. His expression quickly matched hers.

I scanned the gods, before I found one who would do.

"Hestia, would you like to read?" I asked, interrupting the other gods bickering.

Ares started to protest, but I held up a hand, cutting him off.

I put my finger in the book to hold the page, the stood up and walked over to Hestia, my steps not as graceful as they should have been.

She gently grabbed the book, and looked at the page as I walked back to my seat. Hestia the looked over to _Perseus_ and _Annabeth_ in sorrow. _Annabeth_ nodded. The gods did not miss the exchange, and looked at Hestia questioningly.

Hestia just looked down at her book and began to read.

 **"Annabeth,**

Everyone's head shot up, there backs becoming straighter as they sat in attention, holding on to Hestia's every word as if it was their lifeline.

 **NINE DAYS.**

 **As she fell,-**

 _Annabeth_ doubled over, and clenched her eyes shut. Apollo shot up and rushed over to her, putting a glowing hand on her back.

She waved him off.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She said, her face relaxing. "It just felt for a second as though I was... falling."

Peoples eyes began filling with horror, but _Annabeth_ and _Perseus_ just sat back, accepting their fate.

"Your just going to accept this?!" A girl- Clarisse, I think- said angrily.

"What else are we supposed to do? Fight it?" _Perseus_ said

"Yes!" Clarisse said.

"How?" _Perseus_ shot back.

No one had an answer for that.

Hestia began reading again as the silence became unbearable.

 **Annabeth thought about Hesiod, the old Greek poet who'd speculated it would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus.**

 _Annabeth_ doubled over again, Apollo right next to her- again- with that glowing hand on her back. As if trying to ease her pain. We might be gods, but we weren't heartless.

 **She hoped Hesiod was wrong. She'd lost track of how long she and Percy had been falling –hours? A day? It felt like an eternity. They'd been holding hands ever since they'd dropped into the chasm. Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness.**

Suddenly _Perseus- Percy_ , I guess- doubled over as well. One of Apollo's sons- the one name William, Will? Yes, Will- stepped up and sat next to _Percy,_ helping him.

 **Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears.**

 _Annabeth_ reached up to cover her ears.

 **The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Her recently broken ankle throbbed,**

Apollo's hand was at her ankle before she could so much as jerk.

 **though she couldn't tell if it was still wrapped in spiderwebs.**

 **That cursed monster Arachne. Despite having been trapped in her own webbing, smashed by a carand plunged into Tartarus, the spider lady had got her revenge. Somehow her silk had entangled Annabeth's leg and dragged her over the side of the pit, with Percy in tow.**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. What happened."

Which led to _Annabeth_ going into a very long, intense tale of what had happened up until this point.

While everyone was still processing this information, Hestia began abruptly reading again, obviously wanting to get the chapter done as soon as possible.

 **Annabeth couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive, somewhere below them in the didn't want to meet that monster again when they reached the bottom. On the bright side, assuming there was a bottom, Annabeth and Percy would probably be flattened on impact, so giant spiderswere the least of their worries.**

Everyone winced, praying to the gods sitting in front of them that that wouldn't happen.

What they didn't know was that I, along with several of the others, were also praying.

To what? I had no idea.

 **She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob. She'd never expected her life to be demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn't get happy endings.**

I looked down, feeling guilty. Some of those deaths I could have prevented. Some of them I had even caused.

Seeing this from a demigods point of view was rather... shocking, to say the least.

 **Still, this wasn't fair. She'd gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she'd succeeded, when things had been looking up and she'd been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their deaths.**

 **Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.**

I didn't know whether that was a compliment or an insult, but I let it slide due to the fact that Annabeth was currently doubled over with wind whistling in her ear, so she probably couldn't hear I would have said anyway.

 **But Gaia wasn't like other gods. The Earth Mother was older, more vicious, more blood thirsty. Annabeth could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths.**

 **Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy's ear. 'I love you.'**

I think a part of me just died inside. Just a little.

 **She wasn't sure he could hear her**

 _Percy_ nodded, as if saying that he had.

 **– but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.**

I think another part of me just died again.

 **She tried desperately to think of a plan to save them. She was a daughter of Athena. She'd proven herself in the tunnels under Rome, beaten a whole series of challenges with only her wits. But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall.**

 **Neither of them had the power to fly – not like Jason, who could control the wind, or Frank, who could turn into a winged animal. If they reached the bottom at terminal velocity ... well, she knew enough science to know it would be terminal.**

 **She was seriously wondering whether they could fashion a parachute out of their shirts – that'show desperate she was – when something about their surroundings changed. The darkness took on agrey-red tinge. She realized she could see Percy's hair as she hugged him. The whistling in her earsturned into more of a roar. The air became intolerably hot, permeated with a smell like rotten eggs.**

Both _Percy_ and _Annabeth's_ hands shot up to cover their noses. As if they could actually smell it.

As if their pain couldn't get any worse. Not only did they feel the physical side of things, but their other senses were affected as well. Why did Tartarus have to smell like rotten eggs. Why not flowers? Or perfume? Everyone loves perfume... which is probably why Tartarus didn't smell like it.

Ugh, my brain was starting to hurt from so much thinking.

 **Suddenly, the chute they'd been falling through opened into a vast cavern. Maybe half a mile below them, Annabeth could see the bottom. For a moment she was too stunned to think properly. The entire island of Manhattan could have fitted inside this cavern – and she couldn't even see its full extent.**

 **Red clouds hung in the air like vaporized blood. The landscape – at least what she could see of it –was rocky black plains, punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms. To Annabeth's left, the ground dropped away in a series of cliffs, like colossal steps leading deeper into the abyss.**

 **The stench of sulfur made it hard to concentrate,**

 _Annabeth_ shook her head, as if trying to clear her senses.

 **but she focused on the ground directly below them and saw a ribbon of glittering black liquid – a river.**

 **'Percy!' she yelled in his ear. 'Water!'**

People shot up, suddenly filled with hope. As if they hadn't realized that Percy and Annabeth had to survive this to have spent another week in Tartarus.

Idiots, all of them.

 **She gestured frantically. Percy's face was hard to read in the dim red light. He looked shellshocked and terrified, but he nodded as if he understood.**

 **Percy could control water – assuming that was water below them. He might be able to cushion their fall somehow. Of course Annabeth had heard horrible stories about the rivers of the could take away your memories, or burn your body and soul to ashes. But she decided not to think about that. This was their only river hurtled towards them. At the last second, Percy yelled defiantly.**

 **The water erupted in a massive geyser and swallowed them whole.  
**

"So, who wants to read next?"

A/N: So I know what you are thinking. Is their some romance type thing going on between Apollo and Annabeth? The answer is definitely not. Apollo is a doctor, as is Will, and they can both act professional when need be. Annabeth is Apollo's patient, and through out this story I will probably make them really close friends, but there is nothing romantic that will go on between them. Ever. I hate it whenever people think that guys and girls can't just be really really good friends and want nothing romantic to do with each other. So don't worry, Percabeth fans, this story will be staying strictly canon. But I do like the idea of an Apollo/Annabeth close friendship type thing. What do you think?


	17. Apollo XVII

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

BOLD WAS WRITTEN BY RICK RIORDAN

A/N: Apollo is honestly one of my favorite characters, but I've never read the trials of Apollo, so if he is OOC, I apologize. This interpretation of him is the one I have come up with in my head, and I will definitely be doing more chapters with his POV in the future.

 _"So who wants to read next?"_ said Hestia.

Everyone averted their eyes, not wanting to contribute to the pain of the future demi-gods.

The moment Hestia had stopped reading both _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ sat up straight and looked perfectly fine. I was worried that the pain they suffered would last the for the entire time we were reading the book, but it appeared that Chaos wasn't completely heartless after all. Key word, _completely._ I have seen a lot of pretty horrible acts in my lifetime, many of which I wished I had never seen, but forcing someone to relive an unimaginable amount of pain, such as that of literally _walking though hell ,_ was something so cruel that it was a form of punishment that I would never even consider forcing on someone.

Which made me wonder _what was the point._ I mean, I got the _point,_ save lives by preparing us for future wars, yada yada yada, but since when has Chaos ever cared about lives on earth. They created it, and then let it go to sh*t. But why now. They most defiantly didn't help during the first Titan and Giant wars. They didn't help during any of the countless war that have gone on in human and godly history. They most certainly didn't help during the world wars, where millions of innocents died, many more people than died in the future second Titan war. I mean, I get that loosing the Second Giant war would be the end of civilization that we know it, but that's what everyone was thinking would happen during the Cold War and nothing happened then. And more importantly, why torture two innocent (at least I think so) demigods. With words, no less. I've heard Athena emphasize more times than I can count that words have power. I just didn't think that they had _this much._

I realized the anger in my thoughts was being reflected on my face, and that I was staring at Bacchus's kid, Dan or something. He was staring back at me in terror, and accidentally dropped his glass of kool-aid, which spilled all over the daughter of Bellonas' boots. Instead of jumping away, like any normal person, she just stared Dan (Dominic? Ugh, what was his name) down with a look that clearly said _you've got to be kidding me._ Or _I'm going to murder you._ I don't know, something along those lines.

Apparently the mortal, my future oracle (yay!), had agreed to continue the reading.

THE IMPACT DIDN'T kill her, but the cold nearly did.

 _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ stiffened, their eyes closing, and their lips turning slightly blue. I could heal any real wound, but a phantom cold was beyond my abilities. That didn't stop me from trying though

Freezing water shocked the air right out of her lungs. Her limbs turned rigid, and she lost her grip on Percy. She began to sink. Strange wailing sounds filled her ears – millions of heartbroken voices, as if the river were made of distilled sadness.

 _Annabeth_ pulled her legs to her chest, clasping her hands tightly against her ears, trying to block out the moaning of phantom spirits. I realized that she wasn't moving, wait, _she wasn't breathing._ In the book they were under water, which made sense for her, but when I looked over at _Percy,_ he wasn't breathing either.

"Read faster Ms. Dare." I said, panicked.

She looked over at me, then _Annabeth,_ and a horrified look crossed her face as she began reading at twice the speed that she was before, stumbling over words in a effort to get them out as fast as possible.

Will looked at me in terror from where he sat by _Percy_ , knowing that there was really nothing either of us could do. Physical wounds were really the only thing that we could help with.

The voices were worse than the cold. They weighed her down and made her numb. What's the point of struggling? they told her. You're dead anyway. You'll never leave this place. She could sink to the bottom and drown, let the river carry her body away. That would be easier. She could just close her eyes ...

"Come on 'Beth, snap out of it." Zeus's daughter, Thalia, shouting across the room. But _Annabeth_ had no reaction, staring off into space as if trying to escape a horrible memory. People were beginning to realize exactly what was going on and were panicking. Especially the demigods from Camp Half-Blood.

Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back to reality.

 _Annabeth_ blinked, as if her mind came back to her body, and a look crossed her face that I couldn't decipher.

She couldn't see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn't want to die. Together they kicked upward and broke the surface. Annabeth gasped, grateful for the air, no matter how sulfurous.

Both _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ gasped, coughing as they tried to catch their breath. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

I'm going to have a heart attack and die before this book is over, I thought. Even though gods can't get heart attacks. Or die.

The water swirled around them, and she realized Percy was creating a whirlpool to buoy them up. Though she couldn't make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river. Rivers had shores.

'Land,' she croaked. 'Go sideways.' Percy looked near dead with exhaustion. Usually water reinvigorated him, but not this water.

She was right. Even though both _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ looked horrible, _Percy_ did look worse. He was so pale that he swore he could see the veins in his body. Or maybe that was the wall behind him? Either way, not good.

Controlling it must have taken every bit of his strength. The whirlpool began to dissipate. Annabeth hooked one arm around his waist and struggled across the current. The river worked against her: thousands of weeping voices whispering in her ears, getting inside her brain. 'Life is despair', they said. 'Everything is pointless, and then you die.'

"Mood." someone muttered.

'Pointless,' Percy murmured. His teeth chattered from the cold. He stopped swimming and began to sink.

'Percy!' she shrieked. 'The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus – the River of Lamentation. It's made of pure misery!'

'Misery,' he agreed.

'Fight it!' She kicked and struggled, trying to keep both of them a float. Another cosmic joke for Gaia to laugh at: Annabeth dies trying to keep her boyfriend, the son of Poseidon, from drowning. Not going to happen, you hag, Annabeth thought.

"Go _Annabeth_!" cheered one of the Stoll brothers.

She hugged Percy tighter and kissed him.

'Tell me about New Rome,' she demanded. 'What were your plans for us?'

'New Rome ... For us ...'

'Yeah, Seaweed Brain. You said we could have a future there! Tell me!'

Everyone looked over to _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ in curiosity.

Annabeth had never wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood. It was the only real home she'd ever known. But days ago, on the Argo II, Percy had told her that he imagined a future for the two of them among the Roman demigods. In their city of New Rome, veterans of the legion could settle down safely, go to college, get married, even have kids.

"We can live lives outside of camp... without being afraid that every day is your last?" said Dionysus's son, looking hopefully over at Reyna. She looked at the other roman's, and shrugged.

"As of right now I don't see why not." she said.

A weight seemed to lift off of the Grecian demigods shoulder that none of them had seemed to realize was their in the first place. And now that he thought about it, he couldn't imagine living his life thinking everyday would be his last, that he wouldn't have a.. well, a future. He made a mental note to mention it at a council meeting eventually.

'Architecture,' Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. 'Thought you'd like the houses, the parks. There's one street with all these cool fountains.'

Annabeth started making progress against the current. Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone's throw away.

'College,' she gasped. 'Could we go there together?'

'Y-yeah,' he agreed, a little more confidently.

'What would you study, Percy?'

'Dunno,' he admitted.

'Marine science,' she suggested. 'Oceanography?'

'Surfing?' he asked.

Everyone laughed.

"Only _Percy."_ Thalia said, nudging him. Well the younger one. Percy looked slightly sheepish.

She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before – just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.

Both _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ relaxed slightly, pulling their hands away from their ears.

She used the last of her strength to reach the riverbank. Her feet dug into the sandy bottom. She and Percy hauled themselves ashore, shivering and gasping, and collapsed on the dark sand. Annabeth wanted to curl up next to Percy and go to sleep. She wanted to shut her eyes, hope all of this was just a bad dream and wake up to find herself back on the Argo II, safe with her friends (well ... as safe as a demigod can ever be). But, no. They were really in Tartarus. At their feet, the River Cocytus roared past, a flood of liquid wretchedness. The sulfurous air stung Annabeth's lungs and prickled her skin. When she looked at her arms, she saw they were already covered with an angry rash.

Both _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ shouted in surprise, drawing attention to them. Along their arms and legs were small jagged cuts, having appeared out of nowhere.

I swore and immediately started trying to heal the. I was partially successful, but it took me three times as long as it normally did.

She tried to sit up and gasped in pain. The beach wasn't sand. They were sitting on a field of jagged black-glass chips, some of which were now embedded in Annabeth's palms.

So the air was acid. The water was misery. The ground was broken glass. Everything here was designed to hurt and kill. Annabeth took a rattling breath and wondered if the voices in the Cocytus were right. Maybe fighting for survival was pointless. They would be dead within the hour.

"Great." someone said sarcastically.

Next to her, Percy coughed. 'This place smells like my ex-stepfather.'

Several people barked out a laugh.

"Leave it to Percy to still have humor, even in hell." Thalia said, laughing slightly. Several people nodded along, and Annabeth looked at Percy fondly. Well, it looked like she was trying to hide it, but anyone with eyes could see that those two liked each other. He definitely didn't only notice because their future counterparts were dating.

Annabeth managed a weak smile. She'd never met Smelly Gabe, but she'd heard enough stories.

Annabeth looked over at Percy with a questioning look on her face. He shook his head an mouthed _I'll tell you later._

She loved Percy for trying to lift her spirits.

If Aphrodite could have rainbows bursting out of her eyes, I think that's what would be happen right now. She honestly looked sort of like she was about to explode with happiness, apparently forgetting momentarily that both _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ were sitting next to me in an unimaginable amount of pain, whose arms I was still trying to heal.

If she'd fallen into Tartarus by herself, Annabeth thought, she would have been doomed. After all she'd been through beneath Rome, finding the Athena Parthenos, this was simply too much. She would've curled up and cried until she became another ghost, melting into the Cocytus. But she wasn't alone. She had Percy. And that meant she couldn't give up.

Athena looked conflicted, but after what appeared to be an intense internal debate, looked over at _Percy,_ and said "Thank you". Apparently she now approved of their relationship. Not that anyone couldn't. I think jumping into Tartarus for someone was the exact definition of devotion the other person. That what they should put in a dictionary, or on dating websites. _You know your partner is devoted to you if the jump into Tartarus with you. That is the only foolproof way to know._ Because let's be honest, it was.

She forced herself to take stock. Her foot was still wrapped in its makeshift cast of board and bubble wrap, still tangled in cobwebs. But when she moved it, it didn't hurt. The ambrosia she'd eaten in the tunnels under Rome must have finally mended her bones. Her backpack was gone – lost during the fall, or maybe washed away in the river. She hated losing Daedalus's laptop, with all its fantastic programs and data, but she had worse problems. Her Celestial bronze dagger was missing – the weapon she'd carried since she was seven years old. The realization almost broke her, but she couldn't let herself dwell on it. Time to grieve later. What else did they have? No food, no water ... basically no supplies at all. Yep. Off to a promising start.

"Way to look on the bright side _Annabeth."_ said Hermes. _Annabeth_ smiled weakly at him.

Annabeth glanced at Percy. He looked pretty bad. His dark hair was plastered across his forehead, his T-shirt ripped to shreds. His fingers were scraped raw from holding on to that ledge before they fell. Most worrisome of all, he was shivering and his lips were blue.

Everyone looked over at _Percy,_ who was a mirror image to the one painted in the text

'We should keep moving or we'll get hypothermia,' Annabeth said. 'Can you stand?'

He nodded. They both struggled to their feet. Annabeth put her arm around his waist, though she wasn't sure who was supporting whom. She scanned their surroundings. Above, she saw no sign of the tunnel they'd fallen down. She couldn't even see the cavern roof – just blood-colored clouds floating in the hazy grey air. It was like staring through a thin mix of tomato soup and black-glass beach stretched inland about fifty yards, then dropped off the edge of a cliff. From where she stood, Annabeth couldn't see what was below, but the edge flickered with red light as if illuminated by huge fires. A distant memory tugged at her – something about Tartarus and fire.

Athena looked like she wanted to say something, but seemed to bite her tongue.

Before she could think too much about it, Percy inhaled sharply.

'Look.' He pointed downstream. A hundred feet away, a familiar-looking baby-blue Italian car had crashed headfirst into the sand. It looked just like the Fiat that had smashed into Arachne and sent her plummeting into the pit.

Annabeth hoped she was wrong, but how many Italian sports cars could there be in Tartarus? Part of her didn't want to go anywhere near it, but she had to find out. She gripped Percy's hand, and they stumbled towards the wreckage. One of the car's tires had come off and was floating in a back-water eddy of the Cocytus. The Fiat's windows had shattered, sending brighter glass like frosting across the dark beach. Under the crushed hood lay the tattered, glistening remains of a giant silk cocoon – the trap that Annabeth had tricked Arachne into weaving. It was unmistakably empty. Slash marks in the sand made a trail downriver ... as if something heavy, with multiple legs, had scuttled into the darkness.

'She's alive.' Annabeth was so horrified, so outraged by the unfairness of it all, she had to suppress the urge to throw up.

"Oh no." someone breathed. Everyone looked horrified. _Annabeth_ looked slightly green.

'It's Tartarus,' Percy said. 'Monster home court. Down here, maybe they can't be killed.'He gave Annabeth an embarrassed look, as if realizing he wasn't helping team morale. 'Or maybe she's badly wounded, and she crawled away to die.'

"Way to look on the bright side." said Hermes again, this time looking at _Percy._ He was, however, too weak to even react.

'Let's go with that,' Annabeth agreed. Percy was still shivering. Annabeth wasn't feeling any warmer either, despite the hot, sticky air. The glass cuts on her hands were still bleeding, which was unusual for her. Normally, she healed fast. Her breathing got more and more labored.

'This place is killing us,' she said.

And there was the though everyone was too horrified to address. _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ looked like they were dying. And the worst part was that he was sitting _right next to them_ and, for one of the few times in his lifetime, was completely helpless

'I mean, it's literally going to kill us, unless ...'

Tartarus. Fire. That distant memory came into focus. She gazed inland towards the cliff, illuminated by flames from below. It was an absolutely crazy idea. But it might be their only chance.

'Unless what?' Percy prompted. 'You've got a brilliant plan, haven't you?'

'It's a plan,' Annabeth murmured. 'I don't know about brilliant. We need to find the River of Fire.'

Athena breathed a sigh of relief.

Carefully dog-eared the page, and then dropped the book as if it was burning hot.

"There is no way I am reading again." she said. "That definitely just took a few years off my life."

A/N: Wow, that took forever. But it's 3,000 words! And I'm super sorry for the almost year long wait, but from now on I'm going to try posting every two weeks. I will try my best I promise, and we will see. I have already started writing the next chapter, so that should be up soon!


	18. Annabeth XVIII

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

EVERYTHING IN BOLD IS RICK RIORDAN'S WRITING, NOT MINE

Warning for minor swearing.

"There is no way that am I going to read again." Rachel stated. She tentatively held the book out. "Who wants to read?"

No one spoke up.

If this were any other situation, I would have, but due to the fact that I was still trying to catch my breath, the world was spinning, and everything was so blurry I couldn't clearly make out my own hands, I figured that it might not be the best idea.

I vaguely saw Aphrodite glance in my and _Percy's_ direction.

"How about we take a short break." She said. "All of this stress is bad for my skin."

Someone snorted in laughter.

Everyone else was silent, before silently agreeing. It wasn't hard to hear the worry in Aphrodite's voice, despite her words.

After a few more moments of silence, Zeus spoke up.

"We will take a twenty minute break, and then continue reading."

People stood up an stretched, most leaving the room.

 _Percy_ cautiously stood up, as if making sure he couldn't collapse the second he did. I had no idea how he was able to do that. The mere idea of moving my pinkie finger seemed like to much work.

"I'll be right back." he said to me quietly, "I need to take a walk, to... clear my head." He looked like he wanted to say more but ultimately decided against it.

I nodded slightly, acknowledging him.

He hesitated before walking off, a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

I sighed leaning back on the (surprisingly comfortable) couch, my eyes closed. Someone coughed from behind me.

I slowly glanced back, and realized that I wasn't leaning against the couch, but against Apollo. _Oops._

He wasn't, however, angry. He was actually looking very concerned. I realized that I probably wasn't looking my best at the moment, but how bad did you have to look to have a _god_ look at you with a worried look on their face.

I realized that I hadn't move.

"Sorry." I muttered, as I slowly sat up, struggling. I was feeling better, but not at a rate fast enough for any sudden moves, even if I was risking being killed by a god. Though I doubted that was something Apollo would do. If it was Zeus on the other hand (I shuddered at the thought), I might have had more of a reason for concern. But Apollo was always one of the kinder gods. He was known for checking up on his children more that almost any of the others, always trying to find loopholes, and despite sometimes being a bit of an asshole, had a good heart. I wouldn't forget him helping me (and _Percy,_ Grover, and Thalia) when his sister was kidnapped. I wasn't sure if any of the other gods would have done the same. In fact, I was pretty sure most wouldn't have.

Apollo gently wrapped an arm around her, helping her up.

"You okay?" He asked, concerned.

I huffed out a laugh.

He looked at me, confused. "What?"

I looked at him skeptically. "That's the first time a god has asked me that." I said dryly.

He winced. "Yeah, my... brethren, I guess, aren't well known for their empathy."

I laughed, nodding my head in agreement. "Yeah. And I wouldn't way i'm _okay,_ but I am definitely feeling much better. Thank you."

He nodding, accepting my gratitude. "You're welcome. Though i'm not sure how much of a help I was. It's difficult to heal something that shouldn't exist."

"Well, thank you anyway." I said.

He nodded, his eyes looking toward the other side of the room. I followed his gaze, and saw him looking over to where will was sitting, speaking with Nico.

"Are _you_ okay?" I asked him, feeling that unlike most of the other gods he probably would be offended my a _mere demigod like me_ daring _to question him, a god._ Ugh, what I wouldgive to punch most of them (*cough* Hera *cough*) in their perfect teeth.

"Hmm." He said distractedly, before glancing back at me. "Yeah, yeah. Well... I thinks so. I-," He cut himself off, "you know what, never mind."

I leaned forward slightly.

"Shoot." I said, prompting him.

He put his full attention on me. "Well... I don't know. I guess reading this, seeing you and _Percy_ go through so much pain, I really realized how hard it is for a demigod. And I have tried over the years to be their for my children when really need my against some big physical threat, but their are so many other things going on in their lives that I have no idea about. And, if it weren't against the law, then I would really want to know about. That I _do_ really want to know about. But I can't." He seemed to realize something, before glancing apologetically at me. "Sorry, you have enough going on as it is, the last thing you need is to hear about my problems."

"No, no, it's fine, really." I was quick to reassure him. "Trust me, hearing about your problems is a great distraction from my own."

He laughed lightly at that.

I smiled, for the first time in what felt like forever. "And I can help the best I can. I think what you need to do is first identify one single problem, and then work to fix it step by step. Try small steps, instead of one big leap."

He contemplated what I was saying, before looking at me with an expression that I couldn't place. "That's actually a really good idea. Thanks."

I looked sharply at him. "What do you mean _that was actually-_ "

He bumped my shoulder lightly with his own, cutting me off. "I was kidding. I have yet to meet a child of Athena that _hasn't_ come up with any good ideas." He smiled at me.

I smiled too, about to respond, when _Percy_ sat down roughly next to me, looking exhausted.

 _You good?,_ I asked him silently.

He smiled faintly at me and nodded, grabbing my hand.

"Alright." Zeus said boomingly. "The daughter of Bellona has agreed to read the next chapter."

I looked over to Reyna, who was indeed holding the book as she began reading:

 **WHEN THEY REACHED THE LEDGE, Annabeth was sure she'd signed their death warrants.**

And the pain was back, great.

 **The cliff dropped more than eighty feet. At the bottom stretched a nightmarish version of the GrandCanyon: a river of fire cutting a path through a jagged obsidian crevasse, the glowing red currentcasting horrible shadows across the cliff faces.**

 **Even from the top of the canyon, the heat was intense. The chill of the River Cocytus hadn't leftAnnabeth's bones, but now her face felt raw and sunburnt. Every breath took more effort, as if herchest were filled with styrofoam peanuts. The cuts on her hands bled more rather than 's ankle, which had almost healed, now seemed to be broken again. She'd taken off hermakeshift cast, but now she regretted it. Each step made her wince.**

Did everything feel worse than before, or was that just the lack of adrenaline. I closed my eyes trying to focus on the words and not the misery that came with them.

 **Assuming they could make it down to the fiery river, which she doubted, her plan seemedcertifiably insane.**

 **'Uh ...' Percy examined the cliff. He pointed to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge tothe bottom. 'We can try that ledge there. Might be able to climb down.'**

 **He didn't say they'd be crazy to try. He managed to sound hopeful. Annabeth was grateful for that,but she also worried that she was leading him to his doom.**

 **Of course if they stayed here they would die anyway. Blisters had started to form on their armsfrom exposure to the Tartarus air. The whole environment was about as healthy as a nuclear blastzone.**

Thalia suddenly stood up and walked over to me from the other end of the room. She sat down right next to my legs, leaning against the side of the couch. She reached back for my left hand (the one that wasn't holding _Percy's)._

 **Percy went first. The ledge was barely wide enough to allow a toehold. Their hands clawed forany crack in the glassy rock. Every time Annabeth put pressure on her bad foot, she wanted to 'd ripped off the sleeves of her T-shirt and used the cloth to wrap her bloody palms, but herfingers were still slippery and weak.**

 **A few steps below her, Percy grunted as he reached for another handhold.**

 **'So ... what is this fireriver called?'**

"The Phlegethon." Athena said out loud, then snapped her mouth shut as if she hadn't intended to.

 **'The Phlegethon,' she said. 'You should concentrate on going down.'**

 **'The Phlegethon?' He shinned along the ledge. They'd made it roughly a third of the way down the cliff – still high enough up to die if they fell. 'Sounds like a marathon for hawking spitballs.'**

Several people laughed, including Thalia, who I could feel shaking against my leg.

 **'Please don't make me laugh,' she said.**

 **'Just trying to keep things light.'**

 **'Thanks,' she grunted, nearly missing the ledge with her bad foot. 'I'll have a smile on my face as Iplummet to my death.'**

"At least you will die smiling." _Percy_ said humorously.

I glanced over at him, smiling slightly. " _Percy,_ not the time."

He just shrugged.

 **They kept going, one step at a time. Annabeth's eyes stung with sweat. Her arms trembled. But, toher amazement, they finally made it to the bottom of the cliff.**

 **When she reached the ground, she stumbled. Percy caught her. She was alarmed by how feverishhis skin felt. Red boils had erupted on his face, so he looked like a smallpox victim.**

 **Her own vision was blurry. Her throat felt blistered, and her stomach was clenched tighter than afist.**

I leaned back into Apollo's shoulder, as he rested a glowing, steady hand on my back, as if trying to take away some of the pain. I was relieved to find that whatever he was doing was working slightly. Enough for me to relax a bit.

 **We have to hurry, she thought.**

 **'Just to the river,' she told Percy, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. 'We can do this.'**

 **They staggered over slick glass ledges, around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites thatwould've impaled them with any slip of the foot. Their tattered clothes steamed from the heat of theriver, but they kept going until they crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon.**

 **'We have to drink,' Annabeth said.**

 **Percy swayed, his eyes half-closed. It took him three counts to respond.**

 **'Uh ... drink fire?'**

 **'The Phlegethon flows from Hades's realm down into Tartarus.' Annabeth could barely talk. Herthroat was closing up from the heat and the acidic air. 'The river is used to punish the wicked. Butalso ... some legends call it the River of Healing.'**

 **'Some legends?'**

 **Annabeth swallowed, trying to stay conscious. 'The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece sothat they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. I think ... it might be the Underworldequivalent of ambrosia and nectar.'**

 **Percy winced as cinders sprayed from the river, curling around his face.**

 **'But it's fire. How can we–'**

 **'Like this.' Annabeth thrust her hands into the river.**

Everyone gasped, terrified. I just braced myself, cursing Chaos for making me go through this pain again.

 **Stupid? Yes, but she was convinced they had no choice. If they waited any longer, they would passout and die. Better to try something foolish and hope it worked.**

 **On first contact, the fire wasn't painful. It felt cold, which probably meant it was so hot it wasoverloading Annabeth's nerves. Before she could change her mind, she cupped the fiery liquid in herpalms and raised it to her mouth.**

 **She expected a taste like gasoline. It was so much worse.**

 **Once, at a restaurant back in SanFrancisco, she'd made the mistake of tasting a ghost chilli pepper that had come with a plate of Indianfood. After barely nibbling it, she'd thought her respiratory system was going to implode.**

 **Drinkingfrom the Phlegethon was like gulping down a ghost chilli smoothie. Her sinuses filled with liquidflame. Her mouth felt like it was being deep-fried. Her eyes shed boiling tears, and every pore on herface popped. She collapsed, gagging and retching, her whole body shaking violently.**

Apollo grabbed both of my shoulders, holding me down, and Thalia grabbed onto my legs to prevent me from moving too much. I tried to think of something, _anything,_ other than my current situation, praying that it would be over soon.

 **'Annabeth!' Percy grabbed her arms and just managed to stop her from rolling into the convulsions passed. She took a ragged breath and managed to sit up. She felt horribly weakand nauseous, but her next breath came more easily. The blisters on her arms were starting to fade.**

As I relaxed, so did everyone else. I thankfully felt immeasurably better than I had since we started reading this godforsaken book.

 **'It worked,' she croaked. 'Percy, you've got to drink.'**

 _Percy_ sighed, closing his eyes as he resigned himself to his fate, Will hovering over him.

"Damn it." He said quietly. I couldn't help but agree.

 **'I ...' His eyes rolled up in his head, and he slumped against her.**

 **Desperately, she cupped more fire in her palm. Ignoring the pain, she dripped the liquid intoPercy's mouth. He didn't tried again, pouring a whole handful down his throat. This time he spluttered and held him as he trembled, the magical fire coursing through his system. His feverdisappeared. His boils faded. He managed to sit up and smack his lips.**

 **'Ugh,' he said. 'Spicy, yet disgusting.'**

Everyone laughed lightly, happy that the worst was over.

"True." I said, finally able to sit up on my own. I honestly had no idea how _Percy_ was able to stand up earlier, let alone go for a walk.

 **Annabeth laughed weakly. She was so relieved she felt light-headed.**

 **'Yeah. That pretty much sumsit up.'**

 **'You saved us.'**

 **'For now,' she said. 'The problem is we're still in Tartarus.'**

 **Percy blinked. He looked around as if just coming to terms with where they were. 'Holy Hera. Inever thought ... well, I'm not sure what I thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But this is a real place.'**

A couple people nodded in agreement.

 **Annabeth recalled the landscape she'd seen while they fell – a series of plateaus leading everdownwards into the gloom.**

 **'We haven't seen all of it,' she warned. 'This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like thefront steps.'**

 **'The welcome mat,' Percy muttered.**

 **They both gazed up at the blood-colored clouds swirling in the grey haze. No way would theyhave the strength to climb back up that cliff, even if they wanted to.**

 **Now there were only twochoices: downriver or upriver, skirting the banks of the Phlegethon.**

 **'We'll find a way out,' Percy said. 'The Doors of Death.'**

"The what?" Gwen asked. A lot of people turned toward us, but _Hazel,_ who was sitting nearby, looking very stressed, just waved a hand aimlessly.

"We will explain later, lets finish this chapter first." She said.

Everyone looked over at me and _Percy,_ and unanimously agreed that waiting would be a good idea.

 **Annabeth shuddered. She remembered what Percy had said just before they fell into Tartarus. He'dmade Nico di Angelo promise to lead the Argo II to** ** _Epirus_** **, to the mortal side of the Doors of Death.**

 ** _We'll see you there_** **, Percy had said.**

 **That idea seemed even crazier than drinking fire. How could the two of them wander throughTartarus and find the Doors of Death? They'd barely been able to stumble a hundred yards in thispoisonous place without dying.**

 **'We have to,' Percy said. 'Not just for us. For everybody we love. The Doors have to be closed onboth sides, or the monsters will just keep coming through. Gaia's forces will overrun the world.'**

 **Annabeth knew he was right. Still ... when she tried to imagine a plan that could succeed, thelogistics overwhelmed her. They had no way of locating the Doors. They didn't know how much timeit would take, or even if time flowed at the same speed in Tartarus. How could they possiblysynchronize a meeting with their friends? And Nico had mentioned a legion of Gaia's strongestmonsters guarding the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy couldn't exactly launch afrontal assault.**

"How.. how are you going to get out of this one?" Thalia asked quietly.

I answered honestly.

"I have no idea."

 **She decided not to mention any of that. They both knew the odds were bad. Besides, afterswimming in the River Cocytus, Annabeth had heard enough whining and moaning to last a lifetime. She promised herself never to complain again.**

"After this, I'm never complaining again." said Travis. "Compared to this, my life is great." Conner punched him in the shoulder. He winced, processing his words. "I mean, no offense." He said looking at me.

I shrugged. "None taken."

 **'Well.' She took a deep breath, grateful at least that her lungs didn't hurt. 'If we stay close to theriver, we'll have a way to heal ourselves. If we go downstream –'**

 **It happened so fast that Annabeth would have been dead if she'd been on her 's eyes locked on something behind her. Annabeth spun as a massive dark shape hurtled downat her – a snarling, monstrous blob with spindly barbed legs and glinting had time to think: Arachne.**

Everyone sat up straight in terror. I felt adrenaline rush through my veins, and I squeezed Percy and Thalia's hands tighter.

 **But she was frozen in terror, her senses smothered by the sicklysweet she heard the familiar SHINK of Percy's ballpoint pen transforming into a sword. His bladeswept over her head in a glowing bronze arc. A horrible wail echoed through the stood there, stunned, as yellow dust – the remains of Arachne – rained around her liketree pollen.**

Everyone looked over at _Percy_ in shock.

"How..." Clarisse started but never finished.

Reyna looked up from the book, and looked over _Percy_ with an appraising eye.

 **'You okay?' Percy scanned the cliffs and boulders, alert for more monsters, but nothing elseappeared.**

 **The golden dust of the spider settled on the obsidian stared at her boyfriend in amazement. Riptide's Celestial bronze blade glowed evenbrighter in the gloom of Tartarus. As it passed through the thick hot air, it made a defiant hiss like ariled snake.**

 **'She ... she would've killed me,' Annabeth kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression grim and dissatisfied.**

 **'She died too easily,considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse.'Annabeth couldn't argue with that, but the hard edge in Percy's voice made her unsettled. She'dnever seen someone get so angry or vengeful on her behalf. It almost made her glad Arachne had diedquickly.**

The people who had quickly looked at _Percy_ were now directing their looking anywhere but him.

 _Percy_ looked down, a concentrated look on his face. I couldn't even begin to guess what he was thinking.

 **'How did you move so fast?'Percy shrugged. 'Gotta watch each other's backs, right? Now, you were saying ... downstream?'**

 **Annabeth nodded, still in a daze. The yellow dust dissipated on the rocky shore, turning to steam. At least now they knew that monsters could be killed in Tartarus ... though she had no idea how longArachne would remain dead. Annabeth didn't plan on staying long enough to find out.**

 **'Yeah, downstream,' she managed. 'If the river comes from the upper levels of the Underworld, itshould flow deeper into Tartarus –'**

 **'So it leads into more dangerous territory,' Percy finished. 'Which is probably where the Doorsare. Lucky us.'**

A/N: If you don't want to read the whole authors note, then **please read the bold** as it is essential to my store and updates.I said this several chapters ago, but since that was about a year and a half ago that I published that, I'm just going to say it again. **Apollo and Annabeth's relationship is purely platonic.** I am very much for Percabeth, and this story will not stray for that. But I personally love whenever authors or screenwriters have a boy and girl be close friends without being in a romantic relationship just because they are opposite genders. I will probably be doing a lot with close friendships in this story, because I feel everything we see when it comes to main relationships in stories, is that they are usually romantic, or have been at one point in time. Friendships can be just as complex and interesting as a romantic relationship. Anyway, what I am esentially saying is to not take Apollo and Annabeth's interactions the wrong way.

Also, **I am going to try updating weekly from now** on (it probably will not last, but I can guarantee an update next week). The updates will be either on Friday nights or Saturdays, maybe Sundays if I'm busy but that is unlikely, **so check up on this story every weekend for a new chapter!**


	19. Artemis XIX

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

EVERYTHING IN BOLD IS RICK RIORDAN'S WRITING, NOT MINE

Warning for minor swearing.

"I can read again." The daughter of Bellona said, even though she looked hesitant.

She was one of the few demigods I liked, even if I didn't know her very well. I like her, and her sister, even if the Amazons and my huntresses don't always agree on everything. But both of the daughters were perfect examples of strong-willed women.

So was the daughter of Athena- Annabeth. I wished she had taken up my offer to join my huntresses, but alas she had declined (something that very few had done). Unusually, I respected her more after her declination than before. Respect which has gone up ten-fold in the past 24 hours.

Having to live through this once is something that even I would find difficult, but Annabeth (and Percy too I suppose) has to live through it twice.

Fate really does have a sick sense of humor.

The daughter of Bellona begins reading again, interrupting my thoughts. As I began to focus again, I realized that I had been staring at Ares. He winked at me.

Ugh, gross.

 **THEY'D ONLY TRAVELED a few hundred yards when Annabeth heard voices.**

 **Annabeth plodded along, half in a stupor, trying to form a plan. Since she was a daughter of Athena, plans were supposed to be her specialty, but it was hard to strategize with her stomach growling and her throat baking. The fiery water of the Phlegethon may have healed her and given her strength, but it hadn't done anything for her hunger or thirst. The river wasn't about making you feel good, Annabeth guessed. It just kept you going so you could experience more excruciating pain.**

Annabeth and Percy both looked pale where they were curled up on the couch, staring at nothing.

Annabeth was curled up against my brother, who had an extremely worried look on his face. His hands were glowing slightly, one resting on the back of Annabeth's neck, the other hovering above her slightly, trying to heal something that doesn't exist.

My brother's offspring was sitting on a stool next to the couch (which barely fit three people as it is), helping the son of Poseidon. Neither my brother nor his son were having much of an impact.

 **Her head started to droop with exhaustion. Then she heard them – female voices having some sort of argument – and she was instantly alert.**

Even from halfway across the room, I could see that both Percy and Annabeth were suddenly on high alert. Everyone else followed suit.

 **She whispered, 'Percy, down!'**

 **She pulled him behind the nearest boulder, wedging herself so close against the riverbank that her shoes almost touched the river's fire. On the other side, on the narrow path between the river and the cliffs, voices snarled, getting louder as they approached from upstream.**

 **Annabeth tried to steady her breathing. The voices sounded vaguely human, but that meant nothing. She assumed anything in Tartarus was their enemy. She didn't know how the monsters could have failed to spot them already. Besides, monsters could smell demigods – especially powerful ones like Percy, son of Poseidon. Annabeth doubted that hiding behind a boulder would do any good when the monsters caught their scent.**

 **Still, as the monsters got nearer, their voices didn't change in tone. Their uneven footsteps – scrap, clump, scrap, clump – didn't get any faster.**

 **'Soon?' one of them asked in a raspy voice, as if she'd been gargling in the Phlegethon.**

"That's a disgusting analogy," Thalia said from where she was sitting on the ground between Annabeth and Percy's legs. She had her hand resting on one of Annabeth's feet, a small comfort.

 **'Oh my gods!' said another voice. This one sounded much younger and much more human, like a teenaged mortal girl getting exasperated with her friends at the mall. For some reason, she sounded familiar to Annabeth. 'You guys are totally annoying! I told you, it's like three days from here.'**

 **Percy gripped Annabeth's wrist. He looked at her with alarm, as if he recognized the mall girl's voice too.**

"You know her?" asked the daughter of Ares- Clarisse, I think.

"Yeah," Percy said. Everyone waited for him to elaborate but it looked as though even saying that one word took all the energy out of him, even after getting an energy boost from the Phlegethon.

Both Annabeth and Percy were holding each other's hands tightly, and Annabeth grabbed Apollo's hand in her shock from the sudden adrenaline rush. He gave her a surprised look (but not an unhappy one), one that she didn't notice, and then gently squeezed back. **  
**

Huh.

I new Annabeth was in a relationship with Percy, a serious one based on what I knew, so I knew it wasn't like that. It's just that I can't remember the last time my brother had friends. That any of the gods did, come to think of it. I was lucky, I had my huntresses, but gods didn't usually get along with other gods, and since we were so much more powerful than mortal or demigods that generally saw them as beneath us, friends weren't something that came easy.

In all honesty though, Annabeth would be good for my brother. Maybe she'd be able to knock some common sense into him. Gods knew how much he needed it.

 **There was a chorus of growling and grumbling. The creatures – maybe half a dozen, Annabethguessed – had paused just on the other side of the boulder, but still, they gave no indication that they'd caught the demigods' scent. Annabeth wondered if demigods didn't smell the same in Tartarus, or if the other scents here were so powerful they masked a demigod's aura.**

 **'I wonder,' said a third voice, gravelly and ancient like the first, 'if perhaps you do not know the way, young one.'**

 **'Oh, shut your fang hole, Serephone,' said the mall girl. 'When's the last time you escaped to the mortal world? I was there a couple of years ago. I know the way! Besides, I understand what we'refacing up there. You don't have a clue!'**

 **'The Earth Mother did not make you boss!' shrieked a fourth voice.**

 **More hissing, scuffling and feral moans – like giant alley cats fighting.**

"Seriously Annabeth, 'feral moans', what goes through your head to get that?" Thalia states, looking back at Annabeth. Everyone laughs lightly, grateful for the attempt to lighten the mood.

 **At last the one called Serephone yelled, 'Enough!'**

 **The scuffling died down.**

 **'We will follow for now,' Serephone said. 'But if you do not lead us well, if we find you have lied about the summons of Gaia –'**

 **'I don't lie!' snapped the mall girl. 'Believe me, I've got a good reason to get into this battle. I have some enemies to devour, and you'll feast on the blood of heroes. Just leave one special morsel for me– the one named Percy Jackson.'**

 **Annabeth fought down a snarl of her own. She forgot about her fear. She wanted to jump over the boulder and slash the monsters to dust with her knife ... except she didn't have it anymore.**

Aphrodite looked like she was seconds away from jumping up and down.

 **'Believe me,' said the mall girl. 'Gaia has called us, and we're going to have so much fun. Before this war is over, mortals and demigods will tremble at the sound of my name – Kelli!'**

 **Annabeth almost yelped aloud. She glanced at Percy. Even in the red light of the Phlegethon, his face seemed waxy.**

 **Empousai, she mouthed. Vampires.**

A couple of people were beginning to look worried. Well, more worried than they already were. Honestly, the only person who didn't look slightly terrified right now was Ares. What an asshole.

 **Percy nodded grimly.**

 **She remembered Kelli. Two years ago, at Percy's freshman orientation, he and their friend RachelDare had been attacked by empousai disguised as cheerleaders. One of them had been Kelli. Later, the same empousa had attacked them in Daedalus's workshop. Annabeth had stabbed her in the back and sent her ... here. To Tartarus.**

"How are you two still alive?" Gwen asked Percy and Annabeth. "I mean, as demigods, we have been attacked, but not in New Rome. Not at home, or at school."

Travis seemed to pick up on the fact that Percy and Annabeth were in no condition to answer.

"Well, Percy and Annabeth are legends for the greeks, and how they have survived Tartarus I have no idea, but being attack anytime anywhere, like at freshman orientation, is something that is kinda the norm for most of the greeks. I mean, the children of the big three are attacked more often, of course, but the only time any of us feel safe is at Camp Half-Blood."

Connor interjected. "Yeah, and Camp Half-Blood is only for the summers for most of us, and when you are older you don't really stay, so our average lifespan is really low. Like 16 year old, I think."

Everything they said kind of surprised me. Of course I knew demigods usually died young, but the differences between the greeks and the Romans lifestyles was drastic. The greeks got a summer camp, which most of them only attended for three months of the year, whereas the Romans got an entire city that they could live in throughout their lives. I didn't usually interfere with demigods affairs (this being no exception) but I made a mental note to talk to Thalia about it. I'm sure that she could bring it up next time she went to Camp Half-Blood.

 **The creatures shuffled off, their voices getting fainter. Annabeth crept to the edge of the boulder and risked a glimpse. Sure enough, five women staggered along on mismatched legs – mechanical bronze on the left, shaggy and cloven-hooved on the right. Their hair was made of fire, their skin as white as bone. Most of them wore tattered Ancient Greek dresses, except for the one in the lead, Kelli, who wore a burnt and torn blouse with a short pleated skirt ... her cheerleader's outfit.**

 **Annabeth gritted her teeth. She had faced a lot of bad monsters over the years, but she hated empousai more than most.**

 **In addition to their nasty claws and fangs, they had a powerful ability to manipulate the Mist. They could change shape and charm speak, tricking mortals into letting down their guard. Men were especially susceptible. The empousa's favorite tactic was to make a guy fall in love with her, then drink his blood and devour his flesh. Not a great first date.**

Aphrodite and her daughter both looked horrified, but I honestly didn't see what sounded so bad. They'd make good huntresses.

 **Kelli had almost killed Percy. She had manipulated Annabeth's oldest friend, Luke, urging him to commit darker and darker deeds in the name of Kronos.**

 **Annabeth really wished she still had her dagger.**

 **Percy rose. 'They're heading for the Doors of Death,' he murmured. 'You know what that means?'**

 **Annabeth didn't want to think about it, but sadly this squad of flesh-eating horror-show women might be the closest thing to good luck they were going to get in Tartarus.**

 **'** **Yeah,' she said. 'We need to follow them.'**

"Done." the daughter of Bellona said, looking up.

Annabeth and Percy looked up relieved, their pain gone.

"Who-" the daughter of Bellona began.

She was cut off by a knock on the door.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! There will be another update next Friday or Saturday night, so come back next week!

P.S.: Sneak peek for next week...

"This sucked.

First, I had to watch two of my closest friends go through hell- literally, and for the second time no less. Second, I once had to sit here watching them be in excruciating pain, and I wasn't able to do anything about it. For the godsdamned second time. It was bad enough going through it once. Third, now I get to have my thoughts read aloud to the class. I'm really not looking forward to that. And the worst part is that I haven't been able to make any of this better. There is nothing I can build, no joke I can make that is going to make this less tormenting.

So, all in all, this sucked."


	20. Leo XX

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

EVERYTHING IN BOLD WAS WRITTEN BY RICK RIORDAN

Warning for minor swearing.

A/N: Just so you know, I haven't read the Trials of Apollo, so if something comes up (like Apollo's personality) that conflicts with what happens in that series, then I'm sorry. I'm writing this based on my knowledge of the Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus. Also, many people have speculated that Leo was the one who showed up, but he actually showed up in a chapter I wrote almost two years ago and I completely forgot that he was already here... oops. He will be a much more prominent character from now on, as he is one of my favorite characters.

Also, as a reminder, **_italicized_** **names are people from the "future", non-italicized are from this book's "present".**

This sucked.

First, I had to watch two of my closest friends go through hell- literally, and for the second time no less. Second, I once had to sit here watching them be in excruciating pain, and I wasn't able to do anything about it. For the godsdamned second time. It was bad enough going through it once. Third, now I get to have _my_ thoughts read aloud to the class. I'm really not looking forward to that. And the worst part is that I haven't been able to make any of this better. There is nothing I can build, no joke I can make that is going to make this less tormenting.

So, all in all, this sucked.

After the last chapter, _Piper_ had walked in looking extremely confused. Not that I blame her when I showed up not too long after the book started it was pretty disorienting. And afterword, I have been sitting next to _Hazel,_ Hazel (wow, that's weird), and Piper (younger Piper, not the one who just walked through the door.

My past self had decided to sit next to the other past greek demigods. On the opposite side of the room. As far away from me. And I can't even be slightly pissed off because he _is_ me, just younger. And meeting your future self is terrifying, apparently. I could argue that meeting your past self is worse, however. I mean, how many times have you wanted to go back in time and just punch your past self in the face because of how naive, stuck up, stupid, or some other bad trait that you used to be that you know realize was wrong. I know there have been _many_ times in my life where I thought that. I just never thought that coming face to face with my past self would become a reality.

Anyway, when _Piper_ walked in she immediately ran over to _Annabeth_ and _Percy_ and tackled them in a hug and then proceeded to order them to tell her exactly what was going on. She'd been over there talking with _Percy, Annabeth,_ Apollo, _Hazel_ (who had run to _Piper_ the moment she arrived) and Will for the entirety of our short twenty-minute break, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't bring myself to go talk with them. Or talk to anyone for that matter. Not even ghost Hazel who was sitting in the fold-up chair next to me (I mean seriously, their _gods_ for gods' sake, they can bother with chairs a bit more comfortable. _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ got a couch for obvious reasons (it's difficult to live through hell, it's even harder to do so while sitting on a folding chair). At least the gods aren't completely heartless. I hope they give me a more comfortable chair for this chapter, but I honestly wasn't counting on it.

I know what you're thinking, _Leo Valdez, the guy who never stops talking and cracking jokes, even at the worst of times,_ but it's hard to make light of a situation that I feel partially responsible for. I know it wasn't my fault, but if I had realized that _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ weren't safe. If I had put their lives before the stupid statue. If I had been faster...

I shook my head, trying to escape my thoughts. _Depressing thoughts are bad_ , I thought to myself, _focus on something else._

"Are you okay?" Ghost Hazel asked quietly from beside me. Her hand was resting on my shoulder. Which freaked me out, mostly because I couldn't feel it. And slightly because she barely knew me. I mean, I didn't mind, _Hazel_ was a close friend, but this Hazel barely knew me, and from what I knew about her before I met her, she was... timid, I guess is the word to use, after she came back to life. I guess my resemblance to my great-grandfather made her more comfortable.

"Yeah," I said. She didn't look like she believed me.

"Hmm," She said, retracting her hand. "Well, this is difficult for me too. I may not know them, but watching anyone go through that much pain is difficult. It must be worse for you because you have to go through it yourself later."

Huh, I forgot about that.

Hazel took in my expression and winced.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at cheering people up, am I?" She looked like she was blushing, but that could have been the slightly red wall behind her, it was hard to tell.

"No, no..." I said, awkwardly trailing off.

She sat up straight and seemed to be trying to look anywhere but at me.

"I-" I cleared my throat, "I guess that this whole" I gestured wildly with my hands "in the past reading about are present/future is just really confusing."

Hazel nodded politely. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

I nodded, and there was a beat of awkward silence before she continued.

"I guess I'm in a similar situation, just flopped. I'm kind of from the past. I don't know anything about the world as it is now, but from what I saw on my way here it is fairly different. And I am reading about my future so..." she trailed off. "It's confusing and complicated, I guess is what I am trying to say."

I was about to say something before _Annabeth_ spoke up.

"I can read," she announced. Several people looked skeptical.

"Are you sure..." Jason's sister, Thalia, asked. "Won't it be kinda hard to read your own thoughts?" Her own _pain,_ she meant, and everyone caught the double meaning.

 _Annabeth_ shook her head. "The next chapter's not about me."

Everyone sat up intrigued and quickly returned to their seats, Reyna handing _Annabeth_ the book. Will walked back to the other greek demigods, and Apollo walked back to his throne, their help no longer needed. I heard _Annabeth_ whisper a quiet _thank you_ when Apollo walked by. He acknowledged her with a strained smile, before hurrying to his seat. _Piper_ and _Hazel_ sat down near me.

"Hey," _Piper_ whispered. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I replied. I had been saying that a lot recently, I realized. I couldn't remember the last time that I actually meant it.

Before we could start up a conversation (which would be me asking her what had happened since I came here, or if, timeline-wise, she came here at the same time as me in our future timeline)(gods, this was confusing), _Annabeth_ started reading.

 **LEO SPENT THE NIGHT WRESTLING with a forty-foot-tall Athena.**

I was really not looking forward to my thoughts being read out loud to a room. I really, _really_ wasn't.

 **Ever since they'd brought the statue aboard, Leo had been obsessed with figuring out how it worked. He was sure it had primo powers. There had to be a secret switch or a pressure plate or something.**

"Afraid not, son of Hephestus, just magic," Athena said, lifting her chin to look down at him over the bridge of her nose.

 _Di Immortales,_ I hated her. How she and _Annabeth_ were related was beyond me.

 **He was supposed to be sleeping, but he just couldn't. He spent hours crawling over the statue, which took up most of the lower deck. Athena's feet stuck into the sickbay, so you had to squeeze past her ivory toes if you wanted some painkillers. Her body ran the length of the port corridor, her outstretched hand jutting into the engine room, offering the life-sized figure of Nike that stood in her palm, like, Here, have some Victory! Athena's serene face took up most of the aft pegasus stables, which were fortunately unoccupied. If Leo were a magic horse, he wouldn't have wanted to live in a stall with an oversized goddess of wisdom staring at him.**

 **The statue was wedged tight in the corridor, so Leo had to climb over the top and wriggle under her limbs, searching for levers and buttons.**

 **As usual, he found nothing.**

Athena nodded. As if anyone had doubted her in the first place.

 **He'd done some research on the statue. He knew it was made from a hollow wooden frame covered in ivory and gold, which explained why it was so light. It was in pretty good shape, considering it was more than two thousand years old and had been pillaged from Athens, toted to Rome and secretly stored in a spider's cavern for most of the past two millennia. Magic must've kept it intact, Leo figured, combined with really good craftsmanship.**

Hephestus nodded along in agreement.

 **Annabeth had said ... well, he tried not to think about Annabeth. He still felt guilty about her and Percy falling into Tartarus. Leo knew it was his fault. He should have got everyone safely onboard the Argo II before he started securing the statue. He should have realized the cavern floor was unstable.**

"It wasn't your fault _Leo," Annabeth_ said, looking up from the book. "There was nothing you could have done." She shook her head sadly.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, "We don't blame you, so don't blame yourself. We were dealing with an impossible situation, and that statue is the only thing that can get the Romans and Greeks to stop fighting. If you hadn't secured it, then we would have gone through all of the horrible stuff we had to deal with for nothing."

Everyone else was nodding along.

I knew this, I really did, but that didn't stop me from blaming myself. I could have saved them if I had been paying more attention. If I had made sure my teammates were safe before securing some stupid statue. I could have saved them.

But I nodded along anyway, pretending that I was completely fine. Everyone then turned back to the book, our previous conversation already in the back of their minds. Except for _Piper_ and Hazel, who were giving me looks I couldn't decipher.

Gods, this really did suck.

 **Still, moping around wasn't going to get Percy and Annabeth back. He had to concentrate on fixing the problems he could fix.**

 **Anyway, Annabeth had said the statue was the key to defeating Gaia. It could heal the rift between Greek and Roman demigods. Leo figured there had to be more to it than just symbolism. Maybe Athena's eyes shot lasers, or the snake behind her shield could spit poison. Or maybe the smaller figure of Nike came to life and busted out some ninja moves.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

 **Leo could think of all kinds of fun things the statue might do if he had designed it, but the more he examined it, the more frustrated he got. The Athena Parthenos radiated magic. Even he could feel that. But it didn't seem to do anything except look impressive.**

 **The ship careened to one side, taking evasive maneuvers. Leo resisted the urge to run to the helm. Jason, Piper, and Frank were on duty with Hazel now. They could handle whatever was going on. Besides, Hazel had insisted on taking the wheel to guide them through the secret pass that the magic goddess had told her about.**

I suddenly felt like I was actually on the ship as my stomach left my body. Not literally, but you know that feeling whenever you are on one of those rides at a fair (in one of the foster homes I was in, we all went to the fair for a day and I tried one of those rides that take you up really high and then drops you. You know, that feeling.

Anyway, it wasn't a very pleasant feeling, to say the least.

"Are you okay?" Someone behind me asked suddenly.

 _Di Immortales, I was not expecting that._ I though as I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I turned around and saw Will sitting in the seat directly behind me.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, not really sure if I was.

 **Leo hoped Hazel was right about the long detour north. He didn't trust this Hecate lady. He didn't why such a creepy goddess would suddenly decide to be helpful.**

 **Of course, he didn't trust magic in general. That's why he was having so much trouble with the Athena Parthenos. It had no moving parts. Whatever it did, it apparently operated on pure sorcery ... and Leo didn't appreciate that. He wanted it to make sense, like a machine.**

Hephestus nodded in agreement again. I was starting to wish that he would actually say something.

 **Finally, he got too exhausted to think straight. He curled up with a blanket in the engine room and listened to the soothing hum of the generators. Buford the mechanical table sat in the corner in sleep mode, making little steamy snores:** ** _Shhh, pfft, shh, pfft._**

 **Leo liked his quarters okay, but he felt safest here in the heart of the ship – in a room filled with mechanisms he knew how to control. Besides, maybe if he spent more time close to the Athena Parthenos, he would eventually soak in its secrets.**

 **'It's you or me, Big Lady,' he murmured as he pulled the blanket up to his chin. 'You're gonna cooperate eventually.'**

 **He closed his eyes and slept. Unfortunately, that meant dreams.**

"Ugh, I had dreams," Percy said, throwing his head back.

Annabeth punched him in the arm, shushing him, while everyone else laughed at their antics (well, the gods laughed at their antics (except Athena), the demigods laughed in agreement at Percy's statement). I knew that _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ had only been dating for a few months before _Percy_ disappeared, and the younger versions were so oblivious it was funny. For everyone else, I guess. Not so much for them

 **He was running for his life through his mother's old workshop, where she'd died in a fire when Leo was eight.**

People looked over at me in pity.

Can I hide under a table now? Or crawl into a hole and die? Because, honestly, anything was better than this.

 **He wasn't sure what was chasing him, but he sensed it closing fast – something large and dark and full of hate. He stumbled into workbenches, knocked over toolboxes and tripped on electrical cords. He spotted the exit and sprinted towards it, but a figure loomed in front of him – a woman in robes of try swirling earth, her face covered in a veil of dust.**

 ** _Where are you going, little hero?_** **Gaia asked.** ** _Stay and meet my favorite son._**

Everyone looked at the book in horror.

 **Leo darted to the left, but the Earth Goddess's laughter followed him.**

 ** _The night your mother died, I warned you. I said the Fates would not allow me to kill you then. But now you have chosen your path. Your death is near, Leo Valdez._**

 **He ran into a drafting table – his mother's old workstation. The wall behind it was decorated with Leo's crayon drawings. He sobbed in desperation and turned, but the thing pursuing him now stood in his path – a colossal being wrapped in shadows, its shape vaguely humanoid, its head almost scraping the ceiling twenty feet above.**

 **Leo's hands burst into flame. He blasted the giant, but the darkness consumed his fire. Leo reached for his tool belt. The pockets were sewn shut. He tried to speak – to say anything that would save his life – but he couldn't make a sound, as if the air had been stolen from his lungs.**

 ** _My son will not allow any fires tonight,_** **Gaia said from the depths of the warehouse.** ** _He is the void that consumes all magic, the cold that consumes all fire, the silence that consumes all speech._**

 **Leo wanted to shout:** ** _And I'm the dude that's all out of here!_**

People burst out laughing again, despite the tension in the room.

The only good thing about this situation was that I still had his sense of humor and got to make people laugh.

 **His voice didn't work, so he used his feet. He dashed to the right, ducking under the shadowy giants grasping hands, and burst through the nearest doorway.**

 **Suddenly, he found himself at Camp Half-Blood, except the camp was in ruins. The cabins were charred husks. Burnt fields smoldered in the moonlight. The dining pavilion had collapsed into a pile of white rubble, and the Big House was on fire, its windows glowing like demon eyes.**

 **Leo kept running, sure the shadow giant was still behind him.**

 **He weaved around the bodies of Greek and Roman demigods. He wanted to check if they were alive. He wanted to help them. But somehow he knew he was running out of time.**

 **He jogged towards the only living people he saw – a group of Romans standing at the volleyball pit. Two centurions leaned casually on their javelins, chatting with a tall skinny blond guy in a purple toga. Leo stumbled. It was that freak Octavian, the augur from Camp Jupiter, who was always screaming for war.**

Everyone turned around to glare at Octavian.

 **Octavian turned to face him, but he seemed to be in a trance. His features were slack, his eyes closed. When he spoke, it was in Gaia's voice:** ** _This cannot be prevented. The Romans move east from New York. They advance on your camp, and nothing can slow them down._**

 **Leo was tempted to punch Octavian in the face.**

Octavian opened his mouth to say something but was harshly shushed by the people around him. He sat back in his chair, grumbling under his breath and glaring at the floor.

The sight gave me more satisfaction than I cared to admit.

 **Instead, he kept running.**

 **He climbed Half-Blood Hill. At the summit, lightning had splintered the giant pine tree.**

 **He faltered to a stop. The back of the hill was shorn away. Beyond it, the entire world was gone.**

 **Leo saw nothing but clouds far below – a rolling silver carpet under the dark sky.**

 **A sharp voice said, 'Well?'**

 **Leo flinched.**

 **At the shattered pine tree, a woman knelt at a cave entrance that had cracked open between the tree's roots.**

 **The woman wasn't Gaia. She looked more like a living Athena Parthenos, with the same golden robes and bare ivory arms. When she rose, Leo almost stumbled off the edge of the world.**

 **Her face was regally beautiful, with high cheekbones, large dark eyes and braided licorice colored hair piled in a fancy Greek hairdo, set with a spiral of emeralds and diamonds so that it reminded Leo of a Christmas tree. Her expression radiated pure hatred. Her lip curled. Her nose wrinkled.**

 **'The tinkerer god's child,' she sneered. 'You are no threat, but I suppose my vengeance must start somewhere. Make your choice.' Leo tried to speak, but he was about to crawl out of his skin with panic. Between this hate queen and the giant chasing him, he had no idea what to do.**

 **'He'll be here soon,' the woman warned. 'My dark friend will not give you the luxury of a choice. It's the cliff or the cave, boy!'**

 **Suddenly Leo understood what she meant. He was cornered. He could jump off the cliff, but that was suicide. Even if there was land under those clouds, he would die in the fall, or maybe he would just keep falling forever.**

 **But the cave ... He stared at the dark opening between the tree roots. It smelled of rot and death. He heard bodies shuffling inside, voices whispering in the shadows.**

 **The cave was the home of the dead. If he went down there, he would never come back.**

 **'Yes,' the woman said. Around her neck hung a strange bronze-and-emerald pendant, like a circular labyrinth. Her eyes were so angry, Leo finally understood why mad was a word for crazy.**

 **This lady had been driven nuts by hatred. 'The House of Hades awaits. You will be the first puny rodent to die in my maze. You have only one chance to escape, Leo Valdez. Take it.' She gestured towards the cliff.' You're bonkers,' he managed.**

 **That was the wrong thing to say. She seized his wrist. 'Perhaps I should kill you now before my dark friend arrives?' Steps shook the hillside. The giant was coming, wrapped in shadows, huge and heavy and bent on murder.**

 **'Have you heard of dying in a dream, boy?' the woman asked. 'It is possible, at the hands of a sorceress!'**

 **Leo's arm started to smoke. The woman's touch was acid. He tried to free himself, but her grip was like steel.**

 **He opened his mouth to scream. The massive shape of the giant loomed over him, obscured by layers of black smoke.**

 **The giant raised his fist, and a voice cut through the dream.**

 **'Leo!' Jason was shaking his shoulder. 'Hey, man, why are you hugging Nike?'**

Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief and leaned back in their chairs.

"Thank god," Travis said, "that was terrifying."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

 **Leo's eyes fluttered open. His arms were wrapped around the human-sized statue in Athena's hand.**

 **He must have been thrashing in his sleep. He clung to the victory goddess like he used to cling to his pillow when he had nightmares as a kid. (Man, that had been so embarrassing in the foster homes.)**

 **He disentangled himself and sat up, rubbing his face.**

 **'Nothing,' he muttered. 'We were just cuddling. Um, what's going on?'**

 **Jason didn't tease him. That's one thing Leo appreciated by his friend. Jason's ice-blue eyes were level and serious. The little scar on his mouth twitched like it always did when he had bad news to share.**

 **'We made it through the mountains,' he said. 'We're almost to Bologna. You should join us in the mess hall. Nico has new information.'**

 _Annabeth_ opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted. A loud _crash_ had echoed around the room, and several people jumped to their feet.


	21. Hestia XXI

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

EVERYTHING IN BOLD WAS WRITTEN BY RICK RIORDAN

"Oops," Poseidon said, wincing. The fishing pole that usually leaned against his chair had fallen and gave everyone a huge scare.

Everyone groaned in exasperation.

"My heart can't take this," Thalia said from where she was sitting by Annabeth.

Everyone laughed lightly at that.

"I can read." I offered. Annabeth looked like she needed a break, but I knew that if she was anything like her mother that she would never admit it.

I took a steadying breath and started reading.

 **LEO HAD DESIGNED the mess hall's walls to show real-time scenes from Camp Half-Blood.**

 **At first he had thought that was a pretty awesome idea. Now he wasn't so sure. The scenes from back home – the campfire sing-alongs, dinners at the pavilion, volleyball games outside the Big House – just seemed to make his friends sad. The further they got from Long Island, the worse it got. The time zones kept changing, making Leo feel the distance every time he looked at the walls. Here in Italy the sun had just come up. Back at Camp Half-Blood it was the middle of the night. Torches sputtered at the cabin doorways. Moonlight glittered on the waves of Long IslandSound. The beach was covered in footprints, as if a big crowd had just left.**

 **With a start, Leo realized that yesterday – last night, whatever – had been the Fourth of July. They'd missed Camp Half-Blood's annual party at the beach with awesome fireworks prepared by Leo's siblings in Cabin Nine.**

 **He decided not to mention that to the crew, but he hoped their buddies back home had had a good celebration. They needed something to keep their spirits up, too.**

 **He remembered the images he'd seen in his dream – the camp in ruins, littered with bodies; Octavian standing at the volleyball pit, casually talking in Gaia's voice.**

 **He stared down at his eggs and bacon. He wished he could turn off the wall videos.**

The room was dead silent, focused on what I was reading.

 **'So,' Jason said, 'now that we're here ...'**

 **He sat at the head of the table, kind of by default. Since they'd lost Annabeth, Jason had done his best to act as the group's leader. Having been praetor back at Camp Jupiter, he was probably used to that, but Leo could tell his friend was stressed. His eyes were more sunken than usual. His blond hair was uncharacteristically messy, like he'd forgotten to comb it.**

I took a quick glance at Percy and Annabeth. Both of them looked slightly guilty as if it was their fault that their friends were so stressed (which was slightly true, but due to the fact that they had no control over the situation they shouldn't be feeling guilty). I decided to speak with Hygieia* afterward and ask her to speak with them. Mental health was just as important as physical health, and it was the least I could do for them after everything they had done for us.

 **Leo glanced at the others around the table. Hazel was bleary-eyed, too, but of course she'd been up all night guiding the ship through the mountains. Her curly cinnamon-colored hair was tied back in a bandanna, which gave her a commando look that Leo found kind of hot – and then immediately felt guilty about.**

 **Next to her sat her boyfriend Frank Zhang, dressed in black workout pants and a Roman tourist Tshirt that said CIAO! (was that even a word?). Frank's old centurion badge was pinned to his shirt, despite the fact that the demigods of the Argo II were now Public Enemies Numbers 1 through 7 back at Camp Jupiter. His grim expression just reinforced his unfortunate resemblance to a sumo wrestler. Then there was Hazel's half-brother, Nico di Angelo. Dang, that kid gave Leo the freaky-deakies. He sat back in his leather aviator jacket, his black T-shirt and jeans, that wicked silver skull ring on his finger and the Stygian sword at his side. His tufts of black hair stuck up in curls like baby bat wings.**

Percy and Thalia laughed lightly, and Thalia said, "That is an amazing description of Nico. Priceless."

The younger version of Nico- our version of him- was grumbling under his breath and staring at the floor.

 **His eyes were sad and kind of empty, as if he'd stared into the depths of Tartarus – which he had.**

At this everyone sobered. I glanced over to Percy and Annabeth. The look in their eyes was similar to what Leo had described. They both looked only partly present, only half-focusing. Disassociating.

I sighed as pity swept through me, and I tried my best to not have it reflected on my face. The last thing anyone with PTSD needed was pity, but it was hard not to when I knew that the battle they would half to deal with if they survived Tartarus would be just as difficult, if not more so, than the one they would have to face in Tartarus itself.

 **The only absent demigod was Piper, who was taking her turn at the helm with Coach Hedge, their satyr chaperone.**

 **Leo wished Piper were here. She had a way of calming things down with that Aphrodite charm of hers. After his dreams last night, Leo could use some calm.**

 **On the other hand, it was probably good she was above deck chaperoning their chaperone. Now that they were in the ancient lands, they had to be constantly on guard. Leo was nervous about letting Coach Hedge fly solo. The satyr was a little trigger-happy, and the helm had plenty of bright, dangerous buttons that could cause the picturesque Italian villages below them to go BOOM!**

The mood in the room lightened at that. I was thankful for having these chapters from Leo's point of view, as they helped prevent the atmosphere from getting too dark.

 **Leo had zoned out so totally he didn't realize Jason was still talking.**

 **'– the House of Hades,' he was saying. 'Nico?'**

 **Nico sat forward. 'I communed with the dead last night.'**

 **He just tossed that line out there, like he was saying he got a text from a buddy.**

Everyone glanced over at Nico, slightly mistrusting. He just continued looking forward as if he was used to it. I shook my head slightly in sadness but continued reading. It always did hurt when I saw how people treated the children of Hades.

 **'I was able to learn more about what we'll face,' Nico continued. 'In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors.'**

At this, the mistrusting looks went away slightly. He was a vital part of their quest, after all. I just hoped that the other demigods would recognize it.

I looked over at the future demigods to find them glaring at those who were looking at Nico mistrustingly.

I guess going through life-threatening experiences together really did bring people together.

 **Leo frowned. 'Sounds like Día de Los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously.'**

 **He remembered being dragged by her to the local cemetery in Houston, where they'd clean up their relatives' gravesites and put out offerings of lemonade, cookies and fresh marigolds. Aunt Rosa would force Leo to stay for a picnic, as if hanging out with dead people were good for his appetite.**

 **Frank grunted. 'Chinese have that, too – ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime.' He glanced at Leo. 'Your Aunt Rosa would've got along with my grandmother.'**

 **Leo had a terrifying image of his Aunt Rosa and some old Chinese woman in wrestlers' outfits, whaling on each other with spiked clubs.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

 **'Yeah,' Leo said. 'I'm sure they would've been best buds.'**

 **Nico cleared his throat. 'A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honor the dead, but the house of Hades was open year-round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions –'**

 **'Special potions,' Leo muttered. 'Yum.'**

 **Jason flashed him a look like, Dude, enough.**

Piper Mclean nudged Leo gently with her shoulder in exasperation.

 **'Nico, go on.'**

 **'The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future.'**

 **Frank tapped his mug of hot chocolate. 'And if the spirits weren't pleased?'**

 **'Some pilgrims found nothing,' Nico said. 'Some went insane or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again.'**

 **'The point is,' Jason said quickly, 'Nico found some information that might help us.'**

Percy shook his head lightly, amused by his cousins' antics.

 **'Yeah.' Nico didn't sound very enthusiastic. 'The ghost I spoke to last night ... he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants – one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius.'**

 **'Dark dude,' Leo guessed. 'Wrapped in shadows.'**

 **Hazel turned towards him, her gold eyes narrowing. 'Leo, how did you know that?'**

 **'Kind of had a dream.'**

All of the demigods nodded understandingly.

 **No one looked surprised. Most demigods had vivid nightmares about what was going on in the world.**

 **His friends paid close attention as Leo explained. He tried not to look at the wall images of Camp Half-Blood as he described the place in ruins. He told them about the dark giant and the strange woman on Half-Blood Hill, offering him a multiple-choice death.**

 **Jason pushed away his plate of pancakes. 'So the giant is Clytius. I suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death.'**

"You guy's just can't catch a break, can you?" Charles Beckendorf commented.

"Nope," Percy said, popping the p, as he leaned back lightly in his chair and put his arm around Annabeth. She leaned her hear onto his shoulder.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Aphrodite smile and Artemis roll her eyes at the same time.

 **Frank rolled up one of the pancakes and started munching – not a guy to let impending death standing the way of a hearty breakfast. 'And the woman in Leo's dream?'**

 **'She's my problem.' Hazel passed a diamond between her fingers in a sleight of hand. 'Hecatementioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades – a witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic.'**

 **'Do you know magic?' Leo asked.**

 **'Not yet.'**

"Well that's... reassuring," Selena claimed, nodding her head.

Hazel smiled sheepishly.

 **'Ah.' He tried to think of something hopeful to say, but he recalled the angry woman's eyes, the way her steely grip made his skin smoke.**

 **'Any idea who she is?' Hazel shook her head. 'Only that ...'** **She glanced at Nico, and some sort of silent argument happened between them. Leo got the feeling that the two of them had had private conversations about the House of Hades and they weren't sharing all the details. 'Only that she won't be easy to defeat.'**

 **'But there is some good news,' Nico said. 'The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeatedClytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness.' Everybody looked at Leo.**

 **'** **Oh,' he said. 'Okay.'**

 **Jason nodded encouragingly, like this was great news – like he expected Leo to walk up to a towering mass of darkness, shoot a few fireballs and solve all their problems. Leo didn't want to bring him down, but he could still hear Gaia's voice: He is the void that consumes all magic, the cold that consumes all fire, the silence that consumes all speech.**

 **Leo was pretty sure it would take more than a few matches to set that giant ablaze.**

I was beginning to wonder if the tone set in the book corresponded with what everyone was feeling, or if it was just the writing.

 **'It's a good lead,' Jason insisted. 'At least we know how to kill the giant. And this sorceress ... well, if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then so do I.'**

 **Hazel dropped her eyes. 'Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaia's forces –'**

 **'Plus a bunch of ghosts,' Nico added grimly. 'The spirits in that temple may not be friendly.'**

 **'– and find the Doors of Death,' Hazel continued. 'Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Annabeth and rescue them.'**

 **Frank swallowed a bite of pancake. 'We can do it. We have to.'**

 **Leo admired the big guy's optimism. He wished he shared it.**

Some people nodded along in agreement with Leo's reasoning.

 **'So, with this detour,' Leo said, 'I'm estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff.'**

 **Jason smiled sourly. 'Yeah. Those never happen.'**

 **Leo looked at Hazel. 'Hecate told you that Gaia was planning her big Wake Up party on August first, right? The Feast of Whatever?'**

 **'Spes,' Hazel said. 'The goddess of hope.'**

 **Jason turned his fork. 'Theoretically, that leaves us enough time. It's only July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants' HQ, and stop them from waking Gaia before August first.'**

 **'Theoretically,' Hazel agreed. 'But I'd still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying.'**

 **Nobody volunteered any ideas.**

No one listening to the book seemed to have any either.

 **Frank set down his pancake roll like it suddenly didn't taste so good. 'It's July fifth. Oh, jeez, I hadn't even thought of that ...'**

 **'Hey, man, it's cool,' Leo said. 'You're Canadian, right? I didn't expect you to get me an Independence Day present or anything ... unless you wanted to.'**

A couple people smiled gently, including Percy and Annabeth.

 **'It's not that. My grandmother ... she always told me that seven was an unlucky number. It was a ghost number. She didn't like it when I told her there would be seven demigods on our quest. And July is the seventh month.'**

 **'Yeah, but ...' Leo tapped his fingers nervously on the table. He realized he was doing the Morse code for I love you, the way he used to do with his mom, which would have been pretty embarrassing if his friends understood Morse code.**

A couple more people began smiling, despite the dire conversation.

 **'But that's just coincidence, right?'**

 **Frank's expression didn't reassure him.**

 **'Back in China,' Frank said, 'in the old days, people called the seventh month the ghost month. That's when the spirit world and the human world were closest. The living and the dead could go back and forth. Tell me it's a coincidence we're searching for the Doors of Death during the ghost month.'**

 **No one spoke.**

The room was dead silent again. No one was smiling.

 **Leo wanted to think that an old Chinese belief couldn't have anything to do with the Romans and the Greeks. Totally different, right? But Frank's existence was proof that the cultures were tied together. The Zhang family went all the way back to Ancient Greece. They'd found their way through Rome and China and finally to Canada.**

 **Also, Leo kept thinking about his meeting with the revenge goddess Nemesis at the Great Salt Lake.**

 **Nemesis had called him the seventh wheel, the odd man out on the quest. She didn't mean seventh as in ghost, did she?**

"Leo your not..." Piper said, but Leo cut her off.

"I know," He replied. Piper didn't look convinced. Neither did Leo.

 **Jason pressed his hands against the arms of his chair. 'Let's focus on the things we can deal with. We're getting close to Bologna. Maybe we'll get more answers once we find these dwarfs that Hecate –'**

 **The ship lurched as if it had hit an iceberg. Leo's breakfast plate slid across the table. Nico fell backward out of his chair and banged his head against the sideboard. He collapsed on the floor, with a dozen magic goblets and platters crashing down on top of him.**

 **'Nico!' Hazel ran to help him.**

"Found them," Leo muttered quietly. If I wasn't a goddess, there was no way I would have been able to hear him.

 **'What –?'**

 **Frank tried to stand, but the ship pitched in the other direction. He stumbled into the table and went face-first into Leo's plate of scrambled eggs.**

 **'Look!' Jason pointed at the walls. The images of Camp Half-Blood were flickering and changing.**

 **'Not possible,' Leo murmured. No way those enchantments could show anything other than scenes from camp, but suddenly a huge, distorted face filled the entire port-side wall: crooked yellow teeth, a scraggly red beard, a warty nose, and two mismatched eyes – one much larger and higher than the other. The face seemed to be trying to eat its way into the room.**

Everyone cringed.

 **The other walls flickered, showing scenes from above deck. Piper stood at the helm, but something was wrong. From the shoulders down she was wrapped in duct tape, her mouth gagged and her legs bound to the control console.**

 **At the mainmast, Coach Hedge was similarly bound and gagged, while a bizarre-looking creature –a sort of gnome/chimpanzee combo with poor fashion sense – danced around him, doing the coach's hair in tiny pigtails with pink rubber bands.**

 **On the port-side wall, the huge ugly face receded so that Leo could see the entire creature – another gnome chimp, in even crazier clothes. This one began leaping around the deck, stuffing things into a burlap bag – Piper's dagger, Leo's Wii controllers. Then he prised the Archimedes sphere out of the command console.**

 **'No!' Leo yelled.**

 **'Uhhh,' Nico groaned from the floor.**

 **'Piper!' Jason cried.**

 **'Monkey!' Frank yelled.**

 **'Not monkeys,' Hazel grumbled. 'I think those are dwarfs.'**

"Your interactions are priceless... well our interactions, I guess," Hazel remarked.

 **'Stealing my stuff!' Leo yelled, and he ran for the stairs.  
**

*Hygeigia- Greek goddess of healing and mental health

A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is not very full of commentary, but because the HoH chapter itself was really long, it was harder to write commentary without making it feel very repetitive.

Please comment! Comments really are the only thing that keeps me writing, especially every week. I check for comments almost every day, and it means a lot to me if you do comment, so if you can spend 30 seconds of your day making my entire day brighter, please do! Shoutout to the Guest who commented on every one of my chapters, I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day because of it!

Also, there will be no update next week because I am out-of-state for a few days, but come back in two weeks for the next chapter!


	22. Nico XXII

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

 **ALL TEXT IN BOLD WAS WRITTEN BY RICK RIORDAN.**

A/N: Just for context, this is from the past version of Nico's POV. The older version is still in the future time. (For now...)

I had been sitting by myself in the back corner for the entire reading.

Well, not _by myself._ I mean, Hazel and _Leo_ were there too, and then _Piper_ and _Hazel_ came over and sat down too, but due the fact that they had been mostly ignoring me (except for _Hazel,_ who had tried to strike up conversation a few times, but since every time I spoke with her I felt like I was replacing Bianca, I never let the conversation go anywhere. _Hazel_ eventually gave up.) I felt like I had been sitting by myself.

That is until _Annabeth_ came over.

I think that she originally walked over here to discuss something with _Leo,_ but then felt bad for me so decided to sit right next to me. Which pissed me off. I didn't need anyone's pity.

"Hey." She said.

"...Hey." I replied.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I've been better," I replied.

This conversation was getting awkward really fast.

She nodded.

Silence.

"Are you-" She began

"Why are you being so nice?" I snapped, cutting her off. I swear to the gods if she didn't stand back up and walk back over to her comfy couch to cuddle up with her boyfriend, we were going to have a serious problem.

 _Annabeth_ looked confused. "What?"

"Are we friends in the future, or something?" I asked. Rudely. I didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, but I had figured out a while ago that you can't trust anyone. Especially the time-traveling, daughter of the wisdom goddess, the girlfriend of my cr- Percy.

I tried to ignore my thoughts... well feelings. I never thought that there was such a difference between thoughts and feelings up until recently. Thoughts you can just put out of your head, but feelings... well, those stuck with you whether you wanted them or not.

Not that I said any of this out loud.

Not that I could of even when I wanted to. In the 30s, anyone who dared mention that they were having... thoughts... similar to those I might have been experiencing were imprisoned and written off as having a disease. A disease that could be cure through... well, let's just say the methods were not pretty. I still remember a man being dragged off to a mental hospital when I was seven. I hadn't completely understood what was going on at the time. Now I did.

And maybe things were different now. I knew that they probably were, based on what I've seen and heard. But that didn't get rid of that crippling fear I felt anytime I thought too hard about the topic.

Which is what I was feeling right now.

Maybe I should just avoid thinking about it. Push it down, deep, so no one will ever know.

I realized that _Annabeth_ had started speaking, and I tried to focus on what she was saying. I was a good enough person to recognize that I should at least give her that courtesy.

"Well..." _Annabeth_ hesitated. "It's complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it." I gritted my teeth.

"I would like to be friends." Annabeth responded, "You just, the future version of you that is, isn't ever really... around. I see you only a couple of times a year. So no, we aren't friends. But I would like to be."

And maybe because she seemed sincere, or because I had just watched her get tortured by a book, or that a friend was something that I was craving, and had been for a while, but I stopped protesting. Some company _would_ be nice.

Reyna continued reading:

 **LEO WAS VAGUELY AWARE OF HAZEL SHOUTING, 'Go! I'll take care of Nico!'**

 **As if Leo was going to turn back.**

Well, this chapter was off to a great start already.

 _Leo_ turned around and looked at him apologetically.

 **Sure, he'd hoped di Angelo was okay, but he had headaches of his own.**

 **Leo bounded up the steps, with Jason and Frank behind him.**

 **The situation on deck was even worse than he'd feared. Coach Hedge and Piper were struggling against their duct-tape bonds while one of the demon-monkey dwarfs danced around the deck, picking up whatever wasn't tied down and sticking it in his bag.**

 **He was maybe four feet tall, even shorter than Coach Hedge, with bowed legs and chimp-like feet, his clothes so loud they gave Leo vertigo. His green-plaid trousers were pinned at the cuffs and held up with bright-red suspenders over a striped pink-and-black woman's blouse. He wore half a dozen gold watches on each arm and a zebra-patterned cowboy hat with a price tag dangling from the brim. His skin was covered with patches of scraggly red fur, though ninety percent of his body hair seemed to be concentrated in his magnificent eyebrows.**

 _Annabeth_ looked confused. Again. Two times in a day, wow, that's got to be a new record!

 **Leo was just forming the thought _Where's the other dwarf?_ when he heard a click behind him andrealized he'd led his friends into a trap. **

**'Duck!'** **He hit the deck as the explosion blasted his eardrums.**

 **Note to self, Leo thought groggily. Do not leave boxes of magic grenades where dwarfs can reach them. At least he was alive. Leo had been experimenting with all sorts of weapons based on the Archimedes sphere that he'd recovered in Rome. He'd built grenades that could spray acid, fire, shrapnel or freshly buttered popcorn. (Hey, you never knew when you'd get hungry in battle.) Judging from the ringing in Leo's ears, the dwarf had detonated the flash-bang grenade, which Leo had filled with a rare vial of Apollo's music, pure liquid extract. It didn't kill, but it left Leo feeling like he'djust done a belly flop off the deep end.**

 _Leo_ leaned back and shut his eyes in pain. Will Solace came over and sat right next to him in an effort to help. Inches away from me.

I mean, seriously, could he have sat any closer! Personal space people!

Though honestly, his closeness didn't bother me as much as it did with other people.

Maybe because he was _very_ attracti-. Nope, not going there. Push it down, Nico, ignore it.

 **He tried to get up. His limbs were useless. Someone was tugging at his waist, maybe a friend tryingto help him up? No. His friends didn't smell like heavily perfumed monkey cages.**

 _Leo_ groaned, as he apparently lost all feeling in his body.

 **He managed to turn over. His vision was out of focus and tinted pink, like the world had beensubmerged in strawberry jelly. A grinning, grotesque face loomed over him. The brown-furred dwarfwas dressed even worse than his friend, in a green bowler hat like a leprechaun's, dangly diamondearrings and a white-and-black referee's shirt. He showed off the prize he'd just stolen – Leo's toolbelt – then danced away.**

The confused energy _Annabeth_ giving off was really starting to bug me, so I asked her what was wrong. The question came out only slightly nicer than our previous conversation, but she just ignored that part.

"That description just seems familiar, but I can't put my finger on where I have heard that before." She whispered.

I just nodded along, but I couldn't come up with a response. I mean, I knew nothing either, so there wasn't really anywhere this conversation could go.

 **Leo tried to grab him, but his fingers were numb. The dwarf frolicked over to the nearest ballista,which his red-furred friend was priming to launch.**

 **The brown-furred dwarf jumped onto the projectile like it was a skateboard, and his friend shothim into the sky.**

"Cool," Travis muttered.

 **Red Fur pranced over to Coach Hedge. He gave the satyr a big smack on the cheek, then skipped tothe rail. He bowed to Leo, doffing his zebra cowboy hat, and did a backflip over the side. \**

"Ha!" Connor said, "I love these guys!"

He turned to Travis. "If we ever go there, we have to find them!"

Travis's grin was downright terrifying. And trust me, there is a lot of criteria you have to meet to be considered _terrifying_ in my book.

 **Leo managed to get up. Jason was already on his feet, stumbling and running into things. Frank hadturned into a silverback gorilla (why, Leo wasn't sure; maybe to commune with the monkey dwarfs?)but the flash grenade had hit him hard. He was sprawled on the deck with his tongue hanging out andhis gorilla eyes rolled up in his head.**

 **'Piper!' Jason staggered to the helm and carefully pulled the gag out of her mouth.**

 **'Don't waste your time on me!' she said. 'Go after them!'**

Aphrodite smiled at her daughters bravery. Which was odd, as she usually only smiled when it came to makeup or clothes.

 **At the mast, Coach Hedge mumbled, 'HHHmmmmm hmmm!'**

 **Leo figured that meant: 'KILL THEM!'.** **Easy translation, since most of the coach's sentencesinvolved the word kill.**

 **Leo glanced at the control console. His Archimedes sphere was gone. He put his hand to his waist,where his tool belt should have been. His head started to clear, and his sense of outrage came to aboil. Those dwarfs had attacked his ship. They'd stolen his most precious possessions.**

 **Below him spread the city of Bologna – a jigsaw puzzle of red-tiled buildings in a valley hemmedin by green hills. Unless Leo could find the dwarfs somewhere in that maze of streets ... wasn't an option. Neither was waiting for his friends to recover.**

 **He turned to Jason. 'You feeling good enough to control the winds? I need a lift.'**

 **Jason frowned. 'Sure, but –'**

 **'Good,' Leo said. 'We've got some monkey dudes to catch.'**

Reyna took a deep breath before continuing.

 **Jason and Leo touched down in a big piazza lined with white marble government buildings andoutdoor cafés. Bikes and Vespas clogged the surrounding streets, but the square itself was emptyexcept for pigeons and a few old men drinking espressos.**

 **None of the locals seemed to notice the huge Greek warship hovering over the piazza, nor the factthat Jason and Leo had just flown down – Jason wielding a gold sword, and Leo ... well, Leo prettymuch empty-handed.**

 **'Where to?' Jason asked.**

 **Leo stared at him. 'Well, I dunno. Let me pull my dwarf-tracking GPS out of my tool belt ... Oh,wait! I don't have a dwarf-tracking GPS – or my tool belt!'**

That was one of the only sentences that I had wholeheartedly agreed with this entire time.

 **'Fine,' Jason grumbled. He glanced up at the ship as if to get his bearings, then pointed across thepiazza. 'The ballista fired the first dwarf in that direction, I think. Come on.'**

 **They waded through a lake of pigeons, then maneuvered down a side street of clothing stores andgelato shops. The sidewalks were lined with white columns covered in graffiti. A few panhandlersasked for change (Leo didn't know Italian, but he got the message loud and clear).**

 **He kept patting his waist, hoping his tool belt would magically reappear. It didn't. He tried not tofreak, but he'd come to depend on that belt for almost everything. He felt like somebody had stolenone of his hands.**

Another thing I resonated with. If someone had stolen my sword... well, I think that it is the feeling of being defenseless that makes it feel like you have lost a hand, not so much the loosing of the object itself.

 **'We'll find it,' Jason , Leo would have felt reassured. Jason had a talent for staying levelheaded in a crisis, andhe'd got Leo out of plenty of bad scrapes. Today, though, all Leo could think about was the stupidfortune cookie he had opened in Rome. The goddess Nemesis had promised him help, and he'd got it:the code to activate the Archimedes sphere. At the time, Leo had had no choice but to use it if hewanted to save his friends – but Nemesis had warned that her help came with a price.**

 **Leo wondered if that price would ever be paid. Percy and Annabeth were gone. The ship washundreds of miles off course, heading towards an impossible challenge. Leo's friends were countingon him to beat a terrifying giant. And now he didn't even have his tool belt or his Archimedes sphere.**

 **He was so absorbed with feeling sorry for himself that he didn't notice where they were until Jasongrabbed his arm.** **'Check it out.'**

 **Leo looked up. They'd arrived in a smaller piazza. Looming over them was a huge bronze statue ofa buck-naked Neptune.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

Poseidon winced as his form flickered, as an undecipherable look crossed his face.

 **'Ah, jeez.' Leo averted his eyes. He really didn't need to see a godly groin this early in themorning.** **The sea god stood on a big marble column in the middle of a fountain that wasn't working (whichseemed kind of ironic). On either side of Neptune, little winged Cupid dudes were sitting, kind ofchillin', like, _What's up?_ Neptune himself (avoid the groin) was throwing his hip to one side in anElvis Presley move. He gripped his trident loosely in his right hand and stretched his left hand outlike he was blessing Leo, or possibly attempting to levitate him. **

The laughing only got louder.

 **'Some kind of clue?' Leo wondered.**

 **Jason frowned. 'Maybe, maybe not. There are statues of the gods all over the place in Italy. I'd justfeel better if we ran across Jupiter. Or Minerva. Anybody but Neptune, really.'**

All humor had left Neptune/Poseidon's face, and he glared at the ground.

 **Leo climbed into the dry fountain. He put his hand on the statue's pedestal, and a rush ofimpressions surged through his fingertips. He sensed Celestial bronze gears, magical levers, springs and pistons.**

 **'It's mechanical,' he said. 'Maybe a doorway to the dwarfs' secret lair?'**

 **'Ooooo!' shrieked a nearby voice. 'Secret lair?'**

 **'I want a secret lair!' yelled another voice from above.**

 **Jason stepped back, his sword ready. Leo almost got whiplash trying to look in two places at red-furred dwarf in the cowboy hat was sitting about thirty feet away at the nearest café table,sipping an espresso held by his monkey-like foot. The brown-furred dwarf in the green bowler wasperched on the marble pedestal at Neptune's feet, just above Leo's head.**

 **'If we had a secret lair,' said Red Fur, 'I would want a firehouse pole.'**

 **'And a waterslide!' said Brown Fur, who was pulling random tools out of Leo's belt, tossing asidewrenches, hammers and staple guns.**

 **'Stop that!' Leo tried to grab the dwarf's feet, but he couldn't reach the top of the pedestal.**

 **'Too short?' Brown Fur sympathized.**

 _Hazel_ snickered as she elbowed _Leo_ in the arm. He playfully glared back.

 **'You're calling me short?' Leo looked around for something to throw, but there was nothing butpigeons, and he doubted he could catch one. 'Give me my belt, you stupid –'**

 **'Now, now!' said Brown Fur. 'We haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Akmon. And my brotherover there –'**

Recognition crossed _Annabeth's_ face.

"Oh, I remember!" She exclaimed.

 **'– is the handsome one!' The red-furred dwarf lifted his espresso. Judging from his dilated eyesand his maniacal grin, he didn't need any more caffeine. 'Passalos! Singer of songs! Drinker ofcoffee! Stealer of shiny stuff!'**

 **'Please!' shrieked his brother, Akmon. 'I steal much better than you.'**

 **Passalos snorted. 'Stealing naps, maybe!' He took out a knife – Piper's knife – and started pickinghis teeth with it.**

 **'Hey!' Jason yelled. 'That's my girlfriend's knife!'**

 **He lunged at Passalos, but the red-furred dwarf was too quick. He sprang from his chair, bouncedoff Jason's head, did a flip and landed next to Leo, his hairy arms around Leo's waist.**

 **'Save me?' the dwarf pleaded.**

 **'Get off!' Leo tried to shove him away, but Passalos did a backwards somersault and landed out ofreach. Leo's trousers promptly fell around his knees.**

Everyone was rolling in laughter now. There were a couple of people banging their fist against their chairs, and one person was literally on the floor.

 **He stared at Passalos, who was now grinning and holding a small zigzaggy strip of , the dwarf had stolen the zipper right off Leo's trousers.**

 **'Give – stupid – zipper!' Leo stuttered, trying to shake his fist and hoist up his trousers at the sametime.**

 **'Eh, not shiny enough.' Passalos tossed it away.**

"Okay, that scene was pure gold." Travis said, wiping away tears.

 **Jason lunged with his sword.**

 **Passalos launched himself straight up and was suddenly sitting on thestatue's pedestal next to his brother.**

 **'Tell me I don't have moves,' Passalos boasted.**

 **'Okay,' Akmon said. 'You don't have moves.'**

 **'Bah!' Passalos said. 'Give me the tool belt. I want to see.'**

 **'No!' Akmon elbowed him away. 'You got the knife and the shiny ball.'**

 **'Yes, the shiny ball is nice.' Passalos took off his cowboy hat. Like a magician producing a rabbit,he pulled out the Archimedes sphere and began tinkering with the ancient bronze dials.**

Beckendorf and Hephesteus gasped and winced at the same time. I don't know what they were so worried about. It's just a machine.

 **'Stop!' Leo yelled. 'That's a delicate machine.'**

 **J** **ason came to his side and glared up at the dwarfs. 'Who are you two, anyway?'**

 **'The Kerkopes!' Akmon narrowed his eyes at Jason. 'I bet you're a son of Jupiter, eh? I canalways tell.'**

 **'Just like Black Bottom,' Passalos agreed.**

 **'Black Bottom?' Leo resisted the urge to jump at the dwarfs' feet again. He was sure Passalos wasgoing to ruin the Archimedes sphere any second now.**

 **'Yes, you know.' Akmon grinned. 'Hercules. We called him Black Bottom because he used to goaround without clothes. He got so tanned that his backside, well –'**

The laughter started up again.

 **'** **At least he had a sense of humor!' Passalos said. 'He was going to kill us when we stole fromhim, but he let us go because he liked our jokes. Not like you two. Grumpy, grumpy!'**

 **'Hey, I've got a sense of humor,' Leo snarled. 'Give me back our stuff, and I'll tell you a jokewith a good punch line.'**

 **'Nice try!' Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the tool belt and spun it like a noisemaker. 'Oh,very nice! I'm definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!'**

 **Blue Bottom?Leo glanced down. His trousers had slipped around his ankles again, revealing his blue boxershorts.**

 **'That's it!' he shouted. 'My stuff. Now. Or I'll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is.'His hands caught fire.**

"Clever," _Hazel_ stated sarcastically.

 _Leo_ threw up his hands. "I was angry!"

 **'** **Now we're talking.' Jason thrust his sword into the sky. Dark clouds began to gather over thepiazza. Thunder boomed.**

 **'Oh, scary!' Akmon shrieked.**

 **'Yes,' Passalos agreed. 'If only we had a secret lair to hide in.'**

 **'Alas, this statue isn't the doorway to a secret lair,' Akmon said. 'It has a different purpose.'**

 **Leo's gut twisted. The fires died in his hands, and he realized something was very wrong.**

 **Heyelled, 'Trap!' and dived out of the fountain.**

 **Unfortunately, Jason was too busy summoning his storm.**

 **Leo rolled on his back as five golden cords shot from the Neptune statue's fingers. One barelymissed Leo's feet. The rest homed in on Jason, wrapping him like a rodeo calf and yanking himupside down.A bolt of lightning blasted the tines of Neptune's trident, sending arcs of electricity up and downthe statue, but the Kerkopes had already disappeared.**

Everyone leaned back in their chairs and sighed. There we go, things are going wrong again.

 **'Bravo!' Akmon applauded from a nearby café table. 'You make a wonderful piñata, son ofJupiter!'**

 **'Yes!' Passalos agreed. 'Hercules hung us upside down once, you know. Oh, revenge is sweet!'**

 **Leo summoned a fireball. He lobbed it at Passalos, who was trying to juggle two pigeons and the Archimedes sphere.**

 **'Eek!' The dwarf jumped free of the explosion, dropping the sphere and letting the pigeons fly.**

 **'Time to leave!' Akmon decided. He tipped his bowler and sprang away, jumping from table to table. Passalos glanced at the Archimedes sphere, which had rolled between Leo's feet. Leo summoned another fireball.**

 **'Try me,' he snarled.**

 **'Bye!' Passalos did a backflip and ran after his brother. Leo scooped up the Archimedes sphere and ran over to Jason, who was still hanging upside down, thoroughly hog-tied except for his sword arm. He was trying to cut the cords with his gold blade but having no luck.**

 **'Hold on,' Leo said. 'If I can find a release switch –'**

 **'Just go!' Jason growled. 'I'll follow you when I get out of this.'**

 **'But –'**

 **'Don't lose them!'**

 **The last thing Leo wanted was some alone time with the monkey dwarfs, but the Kerkopes werealready disappearing around the far corner of the piazza. Leo left Jason hanging and ran after them.**

A/N: Okay, so I loved writing this chapter, but this story is starting to get really dark, so the next chapter is going to be much more lighthearted!

Come back next Friday or Saturday night for another update!


	23. (past) Percy XXIII

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

I think that I'm in shock. Or maybe I'm just overwhelmed. I don't know.

I just know that my future self came from the future, showed up at camp with Athena wearing Annabeth's hat (or future Annabeth's hat, I guess), and dragged me and a bunch of others up to Olympus to have a book club with the gods that just happens to be about my hellish life (Literally! I mean, I'm in _Tartarus_ for gods sake, which was another topic entirely that I had chosen not to think too hard about). Not to mention the roman demigods, who not only exist but have an entire _city_ that none of us had any idea about, and on top of that I found out that I not only have to fight Kronos but Gaea too! I mean, come on. How the heck am I going to fight the _literal mother earth!_

On the bright side, Annabeth becomes my girlfriend. Which, out of everything so far, I have found the most unbelievable. I mean, why would Annabeth want to date _me._ Don't get me wrong, if I was along right now, I would be jumping up and down in happiness, but I still couldn't believe it.

The only downside of this newfound development was that ever since Annabeth and I realized that our future selves were dating, we hadn't spoken a word to each other, which was sending me into full panic mode.

Did she not want to date me?! Was she mad?! Was she happy?! I was freaking out! And the only people who had mentioned it to me were Grover, who told me that it was obvious that we were eventually going to get together (it wasn't), and Thalia, who had told me the same thing but also had teased me about it relentlessly (she'd walked back over for where she had been sitting by my and Annabeth's future selves a few minutes ago). I had also overheard several conversations about it, Athena looked like she wanted to kill me, and on top of all of that, I have a headache.

So, all in all, I think I'm in shock. Or at least freaking out. Or somewhere in between there. I still don't know.

Zeus's (annoyingly) loud voice cut through my thought like a knife.

"Who is going to continue reading?"

There was silence.

"I will."

Everyone looked over to Annabeth, who had offered.

Reyna walked over to her Annabeth and handed her the book.

She made eye contact with me as she grabbed it and I quickly looked away, blushing. I hear a couple of kids giggle.

She cleared her throat before starting.

 **THE DWARFS DIDN'T TRY VERY HARD TO LOSE HIM, which made Leo suspicious. They stayed just atthe edge of his vision, scampering over red-tiled rooftops, knocking over window boxes, whoopingand hollering and leaving a trail of screws and nails from Leo's tool belt – almost as if they wantedLeo to follow.**

 **He jogged after them, cursing every time his trousers fell down.**

People laughed lightly at that. Thank the gods that these weren't my thoughts. I wondered whose were in the next chapter.

 **He turned a corner and saw twoancient stone towers jutting into the sky, side by side, much taller than anything else in theneighborhood – maybe medieval watch-towers? They leaned in different directions like gearshiftson a race car.**

 **The Kerkopes scaled the tower on the right. When they reached the top, they climbed around theback and disappeared.**

 **Had they gone inside? Leo could see some tiny windows at the top, covered with metal grates, buthe doubted those would stop the dwarfs. He watched for a minute, but the Kerkopes didn't meant Leo had to get up there and look for them.**

"Good luck with that." Someone shouted.

"Thanks," _Leo_ replied sarcastically.

 **'Great,' he muttered. No flying friend to carry him up. The ship was too far away to call for could rig the Archimedes sphere into some sort of flying device, maybe, but only if he had his toolbelt – which he didn't. He scanned the neighborhood, trying to think. Half a block down, a set ofdouble glass doors opened and an old lady hobbled out, carrying plastic shopping bags.**

 **A grocery store? Hmm ...**

 _Piper_ leaned over to whisper something in _Leo's_ ear, looking curious.

 **Leo patted his pockets. To his amazement, he still had some euro notes from his time in stupid dwarfs had taken everything except his money.**

 **He ran for the store as fast as his zipperless trousers allowed.**

Travis, who was sitting right behind me, burst out laughing.

"What?" I said, turning around.

"Nothing," He said still snickering, "just that mental image."

Conner, who was sitting right next to Travis, punched him.

"Dude," he said, looking ashamed to be related to his brother.

 _Leo_ was lightheartedly glaring at us from across the room.

I looked at him apologetically, but he just waved me off.

 **Leo scoured the aisles, looking for things he could use. He didn't know the Italian for _Hello, whereare your dangerous chemicals, please?_ But that was probably just as well. He didn't want to end upin an Italian jail. **

**Fortunately, he didn't need to read labels. He could tell just from picking up a toothpaste tubewhether it contained potassium nitrate. He found charcoal. He found sugar and baking soda. The storesold matches and bug spray and aluminum foil. Pretty much everything he needed, plus a laundrycord he could use as a belt.**

Everyone looked very confused.

 _What on earth did he need that for?_

I then winced at my poor choice of wording. I really needed to remove "what on earth" from my vocabulary. It just made me think of Gaea.

 **He added some Italian junk food to the basket, just to sort of disguise hismore suspicious purchases, then dumped his stuff at the till. A wide-eyed checkout lady asked himsome questions he didn't understand, but he managed to pay, get a bag and race out.**

Several people laughed at that.

 **He ducked into the nearest doorway where he could keep an eye on the towers. He started to work,summoning fire to dry out materials and do a little cooking that otherwise would have taken days tocomplete.**

 **Every once in a while he sneaked a look at the tower, but there was no sign of the dwarfs. Leocould only hope they were still up there. Making his arsenal took just a few minutes – he was thatgood – but it felt like hours.**

Beckendorf gave an appreciative nod.

 **Jason didn't show. Maybe he was still tangled at the Neptune fountain or scouring the streetslooking for Leo. No one else from the ship came to help. Probably it was taking them a long time toget all those pink rubber bands out of Coach Hedge's hair.**

Several more people laughed.

 **That meant Leo had only himself, his bag of junk food and a few highly improvised weapons madefrom sugar and toothpaste. Oh, and the Archimedes sphere. That was kind of important. He hoped hehadn't ruined it by filling it with chemical powder.**

 **He ran to the tower and found the entrance. He started up the winding stairs inside, only to bestopped at a ticket booth by some caretaker who yelled at him in Italian.**

 **'Seriously?' Leo asked. 'Look, man, you've got dwarfs in your belfry. I'm the exterminator.' Heheld up his can of bug spray. 'See? Exterminator Molto Buono. Squirt, squirt. Ahhh!' He pantomimeda dwarf melting in terror, which for some reason the Italian didn't seem to understand.**

Everyone burst out laughing, including me. I mean, that scene was priceless.

"Can you repeat that?" Someone asked Annabeth, who rolled her eyes but did as she was asked.

 **'Seriously?' Leo asked. 'Look, man, you've got dwarfs in your belfry. I'm the exterminator.' He held up his can of bug spray. 'See? Exterminator Molto Buono. Squirt, squirt. Ahhh!' He pantomimed a dwarf melting in terror, which for some reason the Italian didn't seem to understand.**

"I love _Leo's_ chapters," Travis whispered.

 **The guy just held out his palm for money.**

People were rolling in their seats by this point.

 **'Dang, man,' Leo grumbled, 'I just spent all my cash on homemade explosives and whatnot.' Hedug around in his grocery bag. 'Don't suppose you'd accept ... uh ... whatever these are?'**

 **Leo held up a yellow-and-red bag of junk food called Fonzies. He assumed they were some kind ofpotato chips.**

 **To his surprise, the caretaker shrugged and took the bag. ' _Avanti!_ ' **

"That seriously worked?" I asked _Leo,_ who looked over at me and shrugged and nodded at the same time.

I took that as a yes.

 **Leo kept climbing, but he made a mental note to stock up on Fonzies. Apparently, they were betterthan cash in Italy.**

 **The stairs went on and on and on. The whole tower seemed to be nothing but an excuse to build astaircase.**

 _I relate to that,_ I thought.

 **He stopped on a landing and slumped against a narrow barred window, trying to catch his was sweating like crazy, and his heart thumped against his ribs. Stupid Kerkopes. Leo figured thatas soon as he reached the top they would jump away before he could use his weapons, but he had totry.**

 **He kept climbing.**

 **Finally, his legs feeling like overcooked noodles, he reached the top.**

"Great imagery _Leo," Piper_ said, cringing.

 _Leo_ just shrugged. That seemed to be his main form of communication at the moment.

 **The room was about the size of a broom closet, with barred windows on all four walls. Shoved inthe corners were sacks of treasure, shiny goodies spilling all over the floor. Leo spotted Piper'sknife, an old leather-bound book, a few interesting-looking mechanical devices, and enough gold togive Hazel's horse a stomachache.**

 **At first, he thought the dwarfs had left. Then he looked up. Akmon and Passalos were hangingupside down from the rafters by their chimp feet, playing antigravity poker. When they saw Leo, theythrew their cards like confetti and broke out in applause.**

 **'I told you he'd do it!' Akmon shrieked in delight.**

"I love these guys!" Connor said, laughing.

 **Passalos shrugged and took off one of his gold watches and handed it to his brother. 'You win. Ididn't think he was that dumb.'**

 **They both dropped to the floor.**

 **Akmon was wearing Leo's tool belt – he was so close that Leo hadto resist the urge to lunge for it.**

 **Passalos straightened his cowboy hat and kicked open the grate on the nearest window. 'Whatshould we make him climb next, brother? The dome of San Luca?'**

 **Leo wanted to throttle the dwarfs, but he forced a smile. 'Oh, that sounds fun! But, before you guysgo, you forgot something shiny.'**

 **'Impossible!' Akmon scowled. 'We were very thorough.'**

 **'You sure?' Leo held up his grocery dwarfs inched closer. As Leo had hoped, their curiosity was so strong that they couldn't resist.**

 **'Look.' Leo brought out his first weapon – a lump of dried chemicals wrapped in aluminum foil –and lit it with his knew enough to turn away when it popped, but the dwarfs were staring right at it.**

 **Toothpaste,sugar and bug spray weren't as good as Apollo's music, but they made a pretty decent flash-bang.**

Athena nodded approvingly at _Leo's_ plan.

 **The Kerkopes wailed, clawing at their eyes. They stumbled towards the window, but Leo set offhis homemade firecrackers – snapping them around the dwarfs' bare feet to keep them off , for good measure, Leo turned the dial on his Archimedes sphere, which unleashed a plume offoul white fog that filled the room.**

 **Leo wasn't bothered by smoke. Being immune to fire, he'd stood in smoky bonfires, endureddragon breath and cleaned out blazing forges plenty of times. While the dwarfs were hacking andwheezing, he grabbed his tool belt from Akmon, calmly summoned some bungee cords and tied up thedwarfs.'**

 **My eyes!' Akmon coughed. 'My tool belt!'**

 **'My feet are on fire!' Passalos wailed. 'Not shiny! Not shiny at all!'**

 **After making sure they were securely bound, Leo dragged the Kerkopes into one corner and beganrifling through their treasures. He retrieved Piper's dagger, a few of his prototype grenades and adozen other odds and ends the dwarfs had taken from the Argo II.**

 **'Please!' Akmon wailed. 'Don't take our shinies!'**

 **'We'll make you a deal!' Passalos suggested. 'We'll cut you in for ten percent if you let us go!'**

"Don't take it! That's a horrible deal." Hermes said to _Leo._

 **'Afraid not,' Leo muttered. 'It's all mine now.'**

 **'Twenty percent!'**

"Don't take that deal either!." Hermes looked horrified at such a horrible offer.

 _Leo_ looked at Hermes with a " _seriously?!"_ look on his face.

 **Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed, and the bars on the nearest window burstinto sizzling, melted stubs of iron.**

 **Jason flew in like Peter Pan, electricity sparking around him and his gold sword steaming.**

I snorted at that, elbowing Thalia. "He's just like you!"

Her glare was murderous.

 **Leo whistled appreciatively. 'Man, you just wasted an awesome entrance.'**

Several people nodded in agreement.

 **Jason frowned. He noticed the hog-tied Kerkopes. 'What the –'**

 **'All by myself,' Leo said. 'I'm special that way. How did you find me?'**

 **'Uh, the smoke,' Jason managed. 'And I heard popping noises. Were you having a gunfight inhere?'**

 **'Something like that.'**

"Not really."

 **Leo tossed him Piper's dagger, then kept rummaging through the bags ofdwarf shinies. He remembered what Hazel had said about finding a treasure that would help themwith the quest, but he wasn't sure what he was looking for. There were coins, gold nuggets,jewelry, paper clips, foil wrappers, cuff links.**

 **He kept coming back to a couple of things that didn't seem to belong. One was an old bronzenavigation device, like an astrolabe from a ship. It was badly damaged and seemed to be missingsome pieces, but Leo still found it fascinating.**

 **'Take it!' Passalos offered. 'Odysseus made it, you know! Take it and let us go.'**

This peaked several people's interests.

 **'Odysseus?' Jason asked. 'Like, the Odysseus?'**

Clarisse scoffed. "No, he meant Hercules."

I grabbed Thalia's arm before she decided to charge her.

 **'Yes!' Passalos squeaked. 'Made it when he was an old man in Ithaca. One of his last inventions, and we stole it!'**

 **'How does it work?' Leo asked.**

 **'Oh, it doesn't,' Akmon said. 'Something about a missing crystal?'**

Athena looked like she was thinking hard.

 **He glanced at his brother forhelp.**

 **'"My biggest what-if",' Passalos said. '"Should've taken a crystal." That's what he kept mutteringin his sleep, the night we stole it.'**

 **Passalos shrugged. 'No idea what he meant. But the shiny is yours!Can we go now?'**

 **Leo wasn't sure why he wanted the astrolabe. It was obviously broken, and he didn't get the sensethat this was what Hecate meant them to find. Still, he slipped it into one of his tool belt's magicpockets.**

 **He turned his attention to the other strange piece of loot – the leather-bound book. Its title was ingold leaf, in a language Leo couldn't understand, but nothing else about the book seemed shiny. Hedidn't figure the Kerkopes for big readers.**

 **'What's this?' He wagged it at the dwarfs, who were still teary-eyed from the smoke.**

 **'Nothing!' Akmon said. 'Just a book. It had a pretty gold cover, so we took it from him.'**

 **'Him?' Leo and Passalos exchanged a nervous look.**

 **'Minor god,' Passalos said. 'In Venice. Really, it's nothing.'**

"What minor god lives in Venice?" Thalia muttered to herself.

 **'Venice.' Jason frowned at Leo. 'Isn't that where we're supposed to go next?'**

 **'Yeah.' Leo examined the book. He couldn't read the text, but it had lots of illustrations: scythes,different plants, a picture of the sun, a team of oxen pulling a cart. He didn't see how any of that wasimportant, but if the book had been stolen from a minor god in Venice – the next place Hecate had toldthem to visit – then this had to be what they were looking for.**

 **'Where exactly can we find this minor god?' Leo asked.**

 **'No!' Akmon shrieked. 'You can't take it back to him! If he finds out we stole it –'**

 **'He'll destroy you,' Jason guessed. 'Which is what we'll do if you don't tell us, and we're a lotcloser.'** **He pressed the point of his sword against Akmon's furry throat.**

Thalia nodded approvingly.

Children of Zeus, so serious.

 **'Okay, okay!' the dwarf shrieked. 'La Casa Nera! Calle Frezzeria!'**

 **'Is that an address?' Leo dwarfs both nodded vigorously.**

 **'Please don't tell him we stole it,' Passalos begged. 'He isn't nice at all!'**

 **'Who is he?' Jason asked. 'What god?'**

 **'I – I can't say,' Passalos stammered.**

 **'You'd better,' Leo warned.**

 **'No,' Passalos said miserably. 'I mean, I really can't say. I can't pronounce it! Tr – Tri – It's toohard!'**

There was some laughter at this.

I thought back to all of the times someone had refused to give me the name of one of their accomplices. Maybe if this had been their excuse for refusing to give me the name, then I wouldn't be so bitter about it.

 **'Truh,' Akmon said. 'Tru-toh – Too many syllables!'They both burst into tears.**

Thalia snapped her fingers. "Triptolemus!" **  
**

I looked at her questioningly.

"Artemis sent the hunters to Venice a few months ago and we met him," she explained.

 **Leo didn't know if the Kerkopes were telling them the truth, but it was hard to stay mad at weepingdwarfs, no matter how annoying and badly dressed they were.**

 **Jason lowered his sword. 'What do you want to do with them, Leo? Send them to Tartarus?'**

 **'Please, no!' Akmon wailed. 'It might take us weeks to come back.'**

 **'Assuming Gaia even lets us!' Passalos sniffled. 'She controls the Doors of Death now. She'll bevery cross with us.'**

Several people scowled.

 **Leo looked at the dwarfs. He'd fought lots of monsters before and never felt bad about dissolvingthem, but this was different. He had to admit he sort of admired these little guys. They played coolpranks and liked shiny things. Leo could relate. Besides, Percy and Annabeth were in Tartarus rightnow, hopefully still alive, trudging towards the Doors of Death. The idea of sending these twinmonkey boys there to face the same nightmarish problem ... well, it didn't seem right.**

 **He imagined Gaia laughing at his weakness – a demigod too softhearted to kill monsters. Heremembered his dream about Camp Half-Blood in ruins, Greek and Roman bodies littering the remembered Octavian speaking with the Earth Goddess's voice: _The Romans move east fromNew York. They advance on your camp, and nothing can slow them down._**

 **'Nothing can slow them down,' Leo mused. 'I wonder ...'**

Athena smiled, realizing _Leo's_ plan. I really hoped that she would share with the group because I was honestly confused right now.

 **'What?' Jason asked.**

 **Leo looked at the dwarfs. 'I'll make you a deal.'**

 **Akmon's eyes lit up. 'Thirty percent?'**

"No!" Hermes shouted.

 **'We'll leave you all your treasure,' Leo said, 'except the stuff that belongs to us and the astrolabeand this book, which we'll take back to the dude in Venice.'**

 **'But he'll destroy us!' Passalos wailed.**

 **'We won't say where we got it,' Leo promised. 'And we won't kill you. We'll let you go free.'**

 **'Uh, Leo ...?' Jason asked nervously.**

 **Akmon squealed with delight. 'I knew you were as smart as Hercules! I will call you BlackBottom, the Sequel!'**

 _Leo_ groaned at this, leaning back in his chair.

 **'Yeah, no thanks,' Leo said. 'But in return for us sparing your lives, you have to do something forus. I'm going to send you somewhere to steal from some people, harass them, make life hard for themany way you can. You have to follow my directions exactly. You have to swear on the River Styx.'**

 **'We swear!' Passalos said. 'Stealing from people is our specialty!'**

 **'I love harassment!' Akmon agreed. 'Where are we going?'**

 **Leo grinned. 'Ever heard of New York?'**

The Romans glared at _Leo,_ but before I could watch anything play out Annabeth stood up and walked over to me.

"Percy, we need to talk."

Come back next week Friday or Saturday to read the next chapter!


	24. (past) Annabeth XXIV

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

As Percy followed me out of the room, all I could think was Annabeth, what are you doing?!

Going to talk to the boy that you recently found out you would eventually date because future versions of yourselves who came from the future inadvertently told you through a book that was in their (our?) point of view (not that it has explicitly said that yet, but it's obvious), was especially nerve-racking. Not to mention said boy happened to be someone you had had a crush on since you were 12.

So yeah, I had no idea what I was doing. What was I going to say?! I mean, I had to say something now because we had left the room so it was important.

But then again, Percy could be very oblivious and probably wouldn't realize that my original intention for bringing him out here was to tell him that I had a crush on him, so I could probably just make something else up. Maybe we could just talk about our... feelings on meeting future versions of ourselves (sort of, I mean, I hadn't actually spoken with either of them (us?)).

I shook away my thoughts as I led Percy over to a bench right outside of the exit of the building that overlooked Olympus.

It was a beautiful view. Gardens engulfed the entire island, separated by large buildings and market squares. Gods, nymphs, and other Grecian creatures milled about. The Olympians' throne room was so high that despite the thousands of people that could be easily seen, it was silent.

None of this took the tension away.

Percy sat down stiffly, looking everywhere but at me. I probably was no different.

"So... nice view," Percy said, looking at the scene below us.

I nodded before steeling my nerve.

"I just thought that we should talk about how the future versions of ourselves are here. Somewhere we didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing."

Okay, so I chickened out.

Percy seemed to relax slightly. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Yeah, yeah," he responded, "I don't know. I guess it's just a lot, having to take all this in so quickly. I mean, 24 hours ago we were just sitting in the dining pavilion back at camp, and now were..."

"Reading a book about our future selves, who happen to be stuck in Tartarus. We will be stuck in Tartarus." I sighed. "I don't know, I just thought that if we managed to win the war against the titans then that would be it. We'd be safe. Or, as safe as we could ever be for a demigod."

Percy nodded, before giving me an indecipherable look.

I looked over at him with a slight smile. "What?"

"You didn't bring me out here to talk about what we think about meeting our future selves, did you." He said it as a statement, not a question.

Okay, so maybe he is less oblivious that I had originally anticipated.

I looked over at him guiltily.

He smiled, surprising me.

"So we end up dating," he said.

"We do," I agreed hesitantly. I wished that reading minds was something that came with being a child of Athena because I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.

He fiddled with something in his hands. "Are you okay with that?"

"...I am," I said, nodding slightly. "Are you?"

He nodded, smiling slightly, "Yeah, I am."

He looked conflicted for a moment, before opening his mouth to say, "I-"

"Hey Annabeth, Percy!" Someone shouted, running up behind us, "We're gonna start another chapter!"

We turned around to see Will looking out of breath.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Will, I thought he was a great guy, but never in my life have I ever hated someone so much for interrupting one of my conversations.

My face must have reflected this because he paled when he made eye contact with me.

"Uh, Athena told me to come to get you..." He said, looking slightly terrified. I silently cursed my mother.

"Okay," Percy said. He glanced at me with a look I couldn't decipher, before following Will. I followed suit.

Once we got back to our rudimentary seats (I mean really, would it kill the gods to get us something slightly more comfortable than fold-up chairs?), Travis started reading the next chapter.

 **Percy XIII**

 **PERCY HAD TAKEN HIS GIRLFRIEND on some romantic walks before. This wasn't one of them.**

My mother glared at Percy, who held her gaze steadily.

It was odd to hear Percy's thoughts out loud- wait! I can know what he is thinking! I mean, if he is dating me in the future that he has to like me. Unless he doesn't yet, but will later. Hopefully, he will mention when he first started liking me.

Ugh, why are relationships so confusing! There was no logistical way to go about them, no formula you could follow. It would be so much easier if there was.

 **They followed the River Phlegethon, stumbling over the glassy black terrain, jumping crevices and hiding behind rocks whenever the vampire girls slowed in front of them.**

 **It was tricky to stay far enough back to avoid getting spotted but close enough to keep Kelli and her comrades in view through the dark hazy air. The heat from the river baked Percy's skin. Every breath was like inhaling sulfur-scented fiberglass. When they needed a drink, the best they could do was sip some refreshing liquid fire.**

Both Percy and Annabeth started coughing, holding their chests in pain.

Everyone looked at them in pity. I didn't. All I could feel was terror. That would be me, I would have to live through this. I might die in Tartarus. And that idea was crippling.

I must have looked terrified because Percy put a hand on my arm.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

I started nodding before I shook my head.

"Yeah, me neither." We both looked back at our future selves. It was one thing to fight an army of monsters, or spend a few minutes holding up the sky. It was another thing to have to deal with this.

 **Yep. Percy definitely knew how to show a girl a good time.**

A could of people laughed lightly at this. I couldn't even bring myself to smile.

 **At least Annabeth's ankle seemed to have healed. She was hardly limping at all. Her various cuts and scrapes had faded. She'd tied her blonde hair back with a strip of denim torn from her jeans, and in the fiery light of the river, her grey eyes flickered. Despite being beat-up, sooty and dressed like a homeless person, she looked great to Percy.**

Okay, at this I might have smiled a bit. Especially because Percy blushed as he heard this.

 **So what if they were in Tartarus? So what if they stood a slim chance of surviving? He was so glad that they were together he had the ridiculous urge to smile.**

Aphrodite looked like she might faint out of happiness. And despite the situation, I kind of felt that too.

 **Physically, Percy felt better too, though his clothes looked like he'd been through a hurricane of broken glass. He was thirsty, hungry and scared out of his mind (though he wasn't going to tell Annabeth that), but he'd shaken off the hopeless cold of the River Cocytus. And as nasty as the firewater tasted it seemed to keep him going.**

Annabeth and Percy were looking worse by the second. Gods, I wished this chapter would finish sooner.

 **Time was impossible to judge. They trudged along, following the river as it cut through the harsh landscape. Fortunately, the empousai weren't exactly speed walkers. They shuffled on their mismatched bronze and donkey legs, hissing and fighting with each other, apparently in no hurry to reach the Doors of Death.**

 **Once, the demons sped up in excitement and swarmed something that looked like a beached carcass on the riverbank. Percy couldn't tell what it was – a fallen monster? An animal of some kind? The empousai attacked it with relish.**

 **When the demons moved on, Percy and Annabeth reached the spot and found nothing left except a few splintered bones and glistening stains drying in the heat of the river. Percy had no doubt the empousai would devour demigods with the same gusto.**

Several demigods shivered in horror.

 **'Come on.' He led Annabeth gently away from the scene. 'We don't want to lose them.'**

 **As they walked, Percy thought about the first time he'd fought the empousa Kelli at Goode High School's freshman orientation, when he and Rachel Elizabeth Dare got trapped in the band hall. At the time, it had seemed like a hopeless situation. Now, he'd give anything to have a problem that simple. At least he'd been in the mortal world then. Here, there was nowhere to run.**

If that was something that Percy wished for, then, well... I guess it just made this horrible situation feel that much more real.

 **Wow. When he started looking back on the war with Kronos as the good old days – that was sad. He kept hoping things would get better for Annabeth and him, but their lives just got more and more dangerous, as if the Three Fates were up there spinning their futures with barbed wire instead of thread just to see how much two demigods could tolerate.**

Now the pitying looks were directed at Percy and me. I sighed, trying to find something hopeful to hold onto.

 **After a few more miles, the empousai disappeared over a ridge. When Percy and Annabeth caught up, they found themselves at the edge of another massive cliff. The River Phlegethon spilled over the side in jagged tiers of fiery waterfalls. The demon ladies were picking their way down the cliff, jumping from ledge to ledge like mountain goats.**

 **Percy's heart crept into his throat. Even if he and Annabeth reached the bottom of the cliff alive, they didn't have much to look forward to. The landscape below them was a bleak ash-grey plain bristling with black trees, like insect hair. The ground was pocked with blisters. Every once in a while, a bubble would swell and burst, disgorging a monster like a larva from an egg.**

 **Suddenly Percy wasn't hungry anymore.**

A couple of people looked like they wanted to vomit.

 **All the newly formed monsters were crawling and hobbling in the same direction – towards a bank of black fog that swallowed the horizon like a storm front. The Phlegethon flowed in the same direction until about halfway across the plain, where it met another river of black water – maybe the Cocytus? The two floods combined in a steaming, boiling cataract and flowed on as one towards the black fog.**

 **The longer Percy looked into that storm of darkness, the less he wanted to go there. It could be hiding anything – an ocean, a bottomless pit, an army of monsters. But if the Doors of Death were in that direction it was their only chance to get home.**

 **He peered over the edge of the cliff.**

 **'Wish we could fly,' he muttered.**

 **Annabeth rubbed her arms. 'Remember Luke's winged shoes? I wonder if they're still down here somewhere.'**

Almost everyone looked over at Percy, Annabeth, Percy or me questioningly.

 **Percy remembered. Those shoes had been cursed to drag their wearer into Tartarus.**

 **They'd almost taken his best friend, Grover.**

Several people, nodded, slightly understanding the story.

 **'I'd settle for a hang glider.'**

 **'Maybe not a good idea.' Annabeth pointed.**

 **Above them, dark-winged shapes spiraled in and out of the blood-red clouds.**

 **'Furies?' Percy wondered.**

 **'Or some other kind of demon,' Annabeth said. 'Tartarus has thousands.'**

 **'Including the kind that eats hang gliders,' Percy guessed. 'Okay, so we climb.'**

 **He couldn't see the empousai below them anymore. They'd disappeared behind one of the ridges, but that didn't matter.**

"Then wouldn't they attack you when you climbed down?" Will asked.

The future me winced, nodding her head slightly.

"Well, your situation is just getting better and better, isn't it," Clarisse muttered.

 **It was clear where he and Annabeth needed to go. Like all the maggot monsters crawling over the plains of Tartarus, they should head towards the dark horizon. Percy was just brimming with enthusiasm for that.  
**

A/N: Please comment!

Come back next Friday or Saturday for another update!


	25. Annabeth XXV

Disclaimer: ALL rights go to Rick Riordan

I had been hoping that as the chapters went on, this reading would be slightly more bearable. But for some godsforsaken reason, it just seemed to be getting progressively worse.

I would have preferred being on the Argo II, constantly worrying about the next monster attack or Gaia's possible awakening, to this.

Why me? I was so frustrated that I was debating what would be more acceptable in this situation, screaming at the top of my lungs or balling my eyes out. It wasn't like I could ask anyone who had ever been in a similar situation or read a book about it because time traveling to the past to read a book about your past experience (or, now future experiences, I guess) wasn't exactly something that happened every day. Or ever.

I hadn't even spoken with the past version of myself. Or past version of anyone for that matter. And if this were any other situation I would, but my ankle was killing me, my body felt like it was on fire, and I was so nauseous that I felt seconds away from throwing up (I prayed that I wouldn't. The embarrassment from that would make this situation worse, if that was even possible.) All in all, the mere idea of standing upright now seemed as likely as Zeus giving up his throne to Poseidon and then going on to travel the world and become a monk.

I knew I'd have to speak with them eventually. Maybe after the Tartarus chapters

I sighed, leaning my head against Percy's shoulder.

"You good?" He asked, looking worried.

I should be asking him that. He looked even worse than I felt, which I figured had something to do with the fact that the current chapters were from his point of view. For every painful experience we could feel from the book from his point of view, it seemed to be twice as bad for him.

I nodded, craning my neck to look up at him. "You?"

He shrugged with the shoulder I wasn't laying on. "I've been better."

I snorted with laughter, then quickly brought my hand up to my mouth, flushing in embarrassment.

He burst out laughing, and I quickly sat up to avoid his shaking, glaring at him (without malice, of course. I was trying very hard to suppress a smile. That I could make him laugh right now, even if it was at my expense, made me happier than I wanted to admit). However, the sudden movement didn't agree with my head and I shot out a hand to steady myself.

He immediately became concerned, reaching out a hand to steady me.

"Maybe we should get Apollo." He said, looking miserable.

I shook my head. "We've bothered him enough already. He'll be back here when the next chapter starts anyway."

He nodded uncertainly, about to respond when Aphrodite cut him off.

"I'll read next," she said.

Apollo quickly walked over, and sat in a chair beside the couch, ready to help if possible.

Great. Here we go again.

Aphrodite lightly cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her chair before starting.

 **AS THEY STARTED DOWN THE CLIFF, Percy concentrated on the challenges at hand: keeping his footing, avoiding rockslides that would alert the empousai to their presence and of course making sure he and Annabeth didn't plummet to their deaths.**

 **About halfway down the precipice, Annabeth said, 'Stop, okay? Just a quick break.'**

Everyone looked over at me in pity.

The feeling of wanting to scream at the top of my lungs came back pretty quickly.

 **Her legs wobbled so badly, Percy cursed himself for not calling a rest earlier.**

I rested my hand on his reassuringly.

 **They sat together on a ledge next to a roaring fiery waterfall. Percy put his arm around Annabeth, and she leaned against him, shaking from exhaustion.**

My hands started shaking uncontrollably, and Percy grabbed them tightly.

 **He wasn't much better. His stomach felt like it had shrunk to the size of a gumdrop.**

Percy yelped, grabbing his stomach.

"But that wasn't literal," he spluttered.

A couple of people lightly laughed at his sudden outburst.

He groaned, "Ugh, why do the go- does the universe hate me."

 **If they came across any more monster carcasses, he was afraid he might pull an empousa and try to devour it.**

That mental image was both horrifying and amusing. It seemed that there were several people who agreed, as they put hands over their mouths to suppress a laugh.

 **At least he had Annabeth. They would find a way out of Tartarus. They had to. He didn't think much of fates and prophecies, but he did believe in one thing: Annabeth and he were supposed to be together. They hadn't survived so much just to get killed now.**

"Yeah, you guys can do this!" Someone shouted. Several people cheered along with them.

I smiled slightly. I mean, I knew that most of them would have had our backs, but it felt really good to hear them cheering us on like it was a race.

Yeah, a race! Think of it less as a near-death (and possible actual-death experience) and more as a race. All we had to was get to the finish line, and pray that we didn't die along the way.

 **'Things could be worse,' Annabeth ventured.**

 **'Yeah?' Percy didn't see how, but he tried to sound upbeat.**

 **She snuggled against him. Her hair smelled of smoke, and if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine they were at the campfire at Camp Half-Blood.**

 **'We could've fallen into the River Lethe,' she said. 'Lost all our memories.'**

"Way to look on the bright side, Annabeth," Thalia said sarcastically. I stuck my tongue out at her in response.

 **Percy's skin crawled just thinking about it. He'd had enough trouble with amnesia for one lifetime.**

Percy shivered, as if something was actually crawling over his skin.

"Oh, come on," he complained, "that wasn't even literal! It was just a figure of speech! Why do I- you know what, never mind."

Everyone looked over at him in amusement. I mean, it wasn't exactly a harmful sentence, so Percy's dispair was slightly amusing

 **Only last month, Hera had erased his memories to put him among the Roman demigods. Percy had stumbled into Camp Jupiter with no idea who he was or where he came from. And a few years before that he'd fought a Titan on the banks of the Lethe, near Hades's palace. He'd blasted the Titan with water from that river and completely wiped his memory clean.**

 **'Yeah, the Lethe,' he muttered. 'Not my favorite.'**

 **'What was the Titan's name?' Annabeth asked.**

 **'Uh ... Iapetus. He said it meant the Impaler or something.'**

 **'No, the name you gave him after he lost his memory. Steve?'**

 **'Bob,' Percy said.**

"What?" Will asked, looking over at Percy.

Percy looked over and Thalia and Nico questioningly.

After a moment's hesitation, Nico replied, slightly red.

"Tell you later."

Will smiled at Nico brightly.

"I'll be waiting."

Nico blushed

Hmm...

They'd make a cute couple, a little voice in the back of my head told me. I couldn't help but agree.

From the temporary pause, and look that Aphrodite was giving the two of them (one she had given Percy and me a thousand times) she seemed to agree as well.

 **Annabeth managed a weak laugh. 'Bob the Titan.'**

Several people laughed at this.

 **Percy's lips were so parched, it hurt to smile. He wondered what had happened to Iapetus after they'd left him in Hades's palace ... if he was still content being Bob, friendly, happy and clueless. Percy hoped so, but the Underworld seemed to bring out the worst in everyone – monsters, heroes and gods.**

A couple of people looked fearfully at Hades, Nico, and Hazel (x2). I felt inclined to punch them.

 **He gazed across the ashen plains. The other Titans were supposed to be here in Tartarus – maybe bound in chains, or roaming aimlessly, or hiding in some of those dark crevices. Percy and his allies had destroyed the worst Titan, Kronos, but even his remains might be down here somewhere – a billion angry Titan particles floating through the blood-colored clouds or lurking in that dark fog.**

Many people shivered at the thought.

"At least he is in a million pieces and not one whole one." Beckendorf speculated.

 **Percy decided not to think about that. He kissed Annabeth's forehead.**

Aphrodite paused for a second to quiver in excitement before continuing.

 **'We should keep moving. You want some more fire to drink?'**

 **'Ugh. I'll pass.'**

 **They struggled to their feet. The rest of the cliff looked impossible to descend – nothing more than a crosshatching of tiny ledges – but they kept climbing down.**

 **Percy's body went on autopilot. His fingers cramped. He felt blisters popping up on his ankles. He got shaky from hunger. He wondered if they would die of starvation, or if the firewater would keep them going.**

Percy looked seconds away from collapsing. I wrapped my arms around him gently, giving him what little comfort I could.

 **He remembered the punishment of Tantalus, who'd been permanently stuck in a pool of water under a fruit tree but couldn't reach either food or drink.**

Several Greek demigods looked unhappy at the reminder of him.

 **Jeez, Percy hadn't thought about Tantalus in years. That stupid guy had been paroled briefly to serve as director at Camp Half-Blood. Probably he was back in the Fields of Punishment. Percy had never felt sorry for the jerk before, but now he was starting to sympathize. He could imagine what it would be like, getting hungrier and hungrier for eternity but never being able to eat.**

 **Keep climbing, he told himself.**

 **Cheeseburgers, his stomach replied.**

 **Shut up, he thought.**

 **With fries, his stomach complained.**

"Now that's how I expected Percy's thoughts to be like," Thalia stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Percy replied indignantly from where he was sitting across the room.

 **A billion years later,**

"Now that's an exaggeration, " Ares muttered.

Several people glared at him before turning back to Aphrodite.

 **with a dozen new blisters on his feet, Percy reached the bottom. He helped Annabeth down, and they collapsed on the ground.**

 **Ahead of them stretched miles of wasteland, bubbling with monstrous larvae and big insect-hair trees. To their right, the Phlegethon split into branches that etched the plain, widening into a delta of smoke and fire. To the north, along the main route of the river, the ground was riddled with cave entrances. Here and there, spires of rock jutted up like exclamation points. Under Percy's hand, the soil felt alarmingly warm and smooth. He tried to grab a handful, then realized that, under a thin layer of dirt and debris, the ground was a single vast membrane ... likes kin.**

Several people turned slightly green.

Percy leaned forward and put a hand over his mouth, looking like he was about to through up. I rubbed my hand over his back while trying to suppress my own nausea.

 **He almost threw up, but forced himself not to. There was nothing in his stomach but fire.**

 **He didn't mention it to Annabeth, but he started to feel like something was watching them –something vast and malevolent. He couldn't zero in on it, because the presence was all around them. Watching was the wrong word, too. That implied eyes, and this thing was simply aware of them. The ridges above them now looked less like steps and more like rows of massive teeth. The spires of rock looked like broken ribs. And if the ground was skin ...**

 **Percy forced those thoughts aside. This place was just freaking him out. That was all.**

"Do you really think..." Clarisse said, for once at a loss for words.

Percy and I looked at each other, before nodding slowly. Everyone looked horrified at the thought.

 **Annabeth stood, wiping soot from her face. She gazed towards the darkness on the horizon. 'We're going to be completely exposed, crossing this plain.'**

 **About a hundred yards ahead of them, a blister burst on the ground. A monster clawed its way out ... a glistening telkhine with slick fur, a seal-like body, and stunted human limbs. It managed to crawl a few yards before something shot out of the nearest cave, so fast that Percy could only register a dark green reptilian head. The monster snatched the squealing telkhine in its jaws and dragged it into the darkness.**

"You guys make it safely across right?" Selena asked, afraid of the answer.

I figured our silence would be answer enough.

People whipped their heads back towards Aphrodite, silently begging her to start reading again quickly.

 **Reborn in Tartarus for two seconds, only to be eaten. Percy wondered if that telkhine would pop up in some other place in Tartarus, and how long it would take to re-form.**

 **He swallowed down the sour taste of firewater.**

Percy grimaced. I was inclined to do the same as I tasted it. It was like rotten eggs and sweaty gym shorts rolled into one.

I immediately regretted the analogy as the feeling of nausea came back. Apollo wordlessly set down a bucket in front of me. I prayed that I wouldn't have to use it.

Ugh, this was torture. I hoped the chapter would be over soon.

 **'Oh, yeah. This'll be fun.'**

 **Annabeth helped him to his feet. He took one last look at the cliffs, but there was no going back. He would've given a thousand golden drachmas to have Frank Zhang with them right now – good old Frank, who always seemed to show up when needed and could turn into an eagle or a dragon to fly them across this stupid wasteland.**

 **They started walking, trying to avoid the cave entrances, sticking close to the bank of the river.**

 **They were just skirting one of the spires when a glint of movement caught Percy's eye – something darting between the rocks to their right.**

 **A monster following them? Or maybe it was just some random baddie, heading for the Doors of Death.**

Many people sat up straighter.

 **Suddenly he remembered why they'd started following this route, and he froze in his tracks.**

 **'The empousai.' He grabbed Annabeth's arm. 'Where are they?'**

 **Annabeth scanned a three-sixty, her grey eyes bright with alarm.**

 **Maybe the demon ladies had been snapped up by that reptile in the cave. If the empousai were still ahead of them, they should've been visible somewhere on the plains.**

 **Unless they were hiding ...**

Several sharp intakes of breath.

 **Too late, Percy drew his sword.**

Several people cursed loudly. The tension in the room was so taught could be cut through with a knife.

 **The empousai emerged from the rocks all around them – five of them forming a ring. A perfect trap.**

 **Kelli limped forward on her mismatched legs. Her fiery hair burned across her shoulders like a miniature Phlegethon waterfall. Her tattered cheerleader outfit was splattered with rusty-brown stains, and Percy was pretty sure they weren't ketchup. She fixed him with her glowing red eyes and bared her fangs.**

 **'Percy Jackson,' she cooed. 'How awesome! I don't even have to return to the mortal world to destroy you!'**

A/N: Please comment! I check every day to see if anyone has, and it always brightens my day if you do!

Be back next Friday or Saturday (probably Saturday) for another update!

PS:Any suggestions for future chapter PoV's?


	26. Poseidon XXVI

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE! (I'm talking to those people who usually skip it and get straight to the chapter (I'm 100% guilty of that, all the time, but you will want to read this one, I promise!)

A/N: I've decided to make this story more interactive, so last week I asked whose perspective the next chapter should be from, and the majority of people who replied said Poseidon, so here you go! I'll be doing this more often unless I have a set idea of who I want for (which I usually don't), so stay tuned!

For next weeks PoV, some options are:

-Will

-Athena

-Selena

-Hades

-Piper (future version)

If there is someone else you want to see, comment on who you want and why you want them (I chose these people because I have an idea for where I could go with there chapter), and I'll definitely consider it!

Also, on almost every occasion someone has mentioned their ideas for what they want in the story (either little scenes or larger plot points), I've done my best to include them. So if there is something you want to see, be sure to mention it and I will probably include it somewhere.

Anyway, on with the story.

"What are we going to do?!" Athena hissed into my ear.

I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. The only reason why I hadn't run her through with my trident was because that would result in a battle that would probably kill many of the demigods in the room. Specifically my son (sons?). I didn't care much for the others

"What are we going to do about what, Athena?" I replied as calmly as possible.

She dramatically waved her hands in Percy and her daughter's direction.

"They can't be in a relationship! We have to stop it!" She exclaimed.

"Why not?" I asked, struggling to reign in my temper. Gods, just being around her drove me crazy. Having an actual conversation with her, impossible.

"Because!" She spluttered, "Because they are our children. And there is no way I will ever have one of your children as my son-in-law!"

"They are just dating!" I exclaimed, losing the grasp on my emotions, "It's not like they're engaged! And even if they were, what does that have to do with you. I thought you tolerated my son!"

"Yes, he is one of your more bearable offspring, but that does not mean he can marry my daughter!" She replied.

I groaned, letting my head fall into my hands. "I don't know what you want me to do. I don't care if they're in a relationship or not. Their obviously in love with each other, and who am I to get in between that. I mean, sure, I would prefer he wasn't dating one of your children, but from what I can tell, she is pretty different from you, so I truly don't mind!"

We glared at each other, realizing that everyone in the room was looking right at us.

Percy and Annabeth's faces were bright red, and several people were glancing at them. Percy seemed to be just as flustered, however, Annabeth was openly glaring at her mother.

Annabeth looked around at everyone, looked at her mother, and shakily got to her feet.

"Can I speak with you outside. Alone." Annabeth demanded in a strong voice.

Athena looked offended. "You can't just-"

"Now."

There was no room for argument in that voice.

The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.

Annabeth slowly walked out of the room, wincing with each step, as Athena slowly trailed after her with a conflicted look on her face.

The second the door closed, the room burst out into chatter.

I slumped back in my seat, exhausted.

Beside me, Zeus snorted with laughter.

"I may not like your son, but he knows how to pick a girl."

I whipped my head around and stood up, about to punch him, when I felt someone grab my arm.

I turned quickly to see Hades holding me back.

He shook his head. "It's not worth it."

I don't know what I would have done next, but when Athena and Annabeth came back it the entire room went quiet again.

Annabeth looked much calmer than she had only minutes before and stumbled back to her seat, looking as though the simple act of walking across the room had taken all of the energy out of her,

Athena, however, looked... well, I couldn't name the expression she was wearing. Shame? Guilt?

On anyone else, those would have been the obvious emotions, but I had never seen Athena look shameful before.

Athena slowly sat down in her seat, her eyes downcast.

Whatever Annabeth said seemed to have gotten through to her. I silently applauded the girl.

I would have continued contemplating the odd paradox that was Athena, but one of the demigods (the daughter of Aphrodite from the future, whose name I hadn't bothered to remember) offered to read.

 **PERCY RECALLED HOW DANGEROUS Kelli had been the last time they'd fought in the Labyrinth. Despite those mismatched legs, she could move fast when she wanted to. She'd dodged his sword strikes and would have eaten his face if Annabeth hadn't stabbed her from behind.**

 **Now she had four friends with her.**

Great, I thought. I wished, more than anything, that there was something I could do. I know I'd never been there for him (even though I wanted to be), but he was still my son, and I would never forgive myself if he died like this. I knew how much it would hurt Sally.

 **'And your friend Annabeth is with you!' Kelli hissed with laughter. 'Oh, yeah, I totally remember her.'**

 **Kelli touched her own sternum, where the tip of the knife had exited when Annabeth had stabbed her in the back.**

One of Hermes kids' whistled. "Great job, taking down an empousa is not easy."

 **'What's the matter, daughter of Athena? Don't have your weapon? Bummer. I'd use it to kill you.'**

 **Percy tried to think. He and Annabeth stood shoulder to shoulder as they had many times before, ready to fight. But neither of them was in good shape for battle. Annabeth was empty-handed. They were hopelessly outnumbered. There was nowhere to run. No help coming.**

The tension in the room came back.

The future son of Hephestus (Leo?) leaned his head back against his chair and sighed. "I hate this."

 **Briefly, Percy considered calling for Mrs. O'Leary, his hellhound friend who could shadow-travel. Even if she heard him, could she make it into Tartarus? This was where monsters went when they died. Calling her here might kill her, or turn her back to her natural state as a fierce monster. No ... he couldn't do that to his dog.**

 **So, no help.**

"You guys seriously have the worst luck," Thalia said. I silently agreed.

 **Fighting was a long shot. That left Annabeth's favorite tactics: trickery, talk, delay.**

Annabeth raised her eyebrows and glanced over at Percy. "You actually listen?"

He shrugged, "Whenever it helps save my life."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at this.

 **'So ...' he started, 'I guess you're wondering what we're doing in Tartarus.'**

 **Kelli snickered. 'Not really. I just want to kill you.'**

Annabeth put her head in her hands.

"Great job." She said sarcastically.

 **That would've been it, but Annabeth chimed in.**

 **'Too bad,' she said. 'Because you have no idea what's going on in the mortal world.'**

 **The other empousai circled, watching Kelli for a cue to attack, but the ex-cheerleader only snarled, crouching out of reach of Percy's sword.**

 **'We know enough,' Kelli said. 'Gaia has spoken.'**

 **'You're heading towards a major defeat.' Annabeth sounded so confident, even Percy was impressed. She glanced at the other empousai, one by one, then pointed accusingly at Kelli. 'This one claims she's leading you to a victory. She's lying. The last time she was in the mortal world, Kelli was in charge of keeping my friend Luke Castellan faithful to Kronos. In the end, Luke rejected him. He gave his life to expel Kronos. The Titans lost because Kelli failed. Now Kelli wants to lead you to another disaster.'**

"Smart." The son of Apollo claimed.

Several people nodded along in agreement.

 **The other empousai muttered and shifted uneasily.**

 **'Enough!' Kelli's fingernails grew into long black talons. She glared at Annabeth as if imagining her sliced into small pieces.**

 **Percy was pretty sure Kelli had had a thing for Luke Castellan. Luke had that effect on girls – even donkey-legged vampires – and Percy wasn't sure bringing up his name was such a good idea.**

"Our half-brother, such a ladies man." The other son of Hermes stated, unimpressed. "Especially when he aligns himself with the Titans.

Near him, the daughter of Aphrodite winced.

 **'The girl lies,' Kelli said. 'So the Titans lost. Fine! That was part of the plan to wake Gaia! Now the Earth Mother and her giants will destroy the mortal world, and we will totally feast on demigods!'**

"We will totally feast on the demigods!" On of the sons of Hermes mocked in a poorly imitated valley girl voice. (I really needed to learn their names). He

Several people laughed at his antics.

He was, however, looking at Demeter's daughter, who was just shaking her head in exasperation.

Ah, young love. How cute.

 **The other vampires gnashed their teeth in a frenzy of excitement. Percy had been in the middle of a school of sharks when the water was full of blood. That wasn't nearly as scary as empousai ready to feed.**

 **He prepared to attack, but how many could he dispatch before they overwhelmed him? It wouldn't be enough.**

 **'The demigods have united!' Annabeth yelled. 'You'd better think twice before you attack us. Romans and Greeks will fight you together. You don't stand a chance!'**

 **The empousai backed up nervously, hissing, 'Romani.'**

The Roman demigods sat forward in interest.

 **Percy guessed they'd had experience with the Twelfth Legion before and it hadn't worked out well for them.**

Reyna nodded, "Yeah, we ran into them not long ago. Almost killed one of us."

 **'Yeah, you bet Romani.' Percy bared his forearm and showed them the brand he'd got at CampJupiter – the SPQR mark, with the trident of Neptune. 'You mix Greek and Roman, and you know what you get? You get BAM!'**

 **He stomped his foot, and the empousai scrambled back. One fell off the boulder where she'd been perched.**

This made some people laugh. I couldn't bring myself to find any humor in it. This was survival, not something that was written for entertainment.

 **That made Percy feel good, but they recovered quickly and closed in again.**

 **'Bold talk,' Kelli said, 'for two demigods lost in Tartarus. Lower your sword, Percy Jackson, andI'll kill you quickly. Believe me, there are worse ways to die down here.'**

 **'Wait!' Annabeth tried again. 'Aren't empousai the servants of Hecate?'**

 **Kelli curled her lip. 'So?'**

 **'So Hecate is on our side now,' Annabeth said. 'She has a cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Some of her demigod children are my friends. If you fight us, she'll be angry.'**

"Seriously, how do you just come up with this off the top of your head in a life or death situation. I'm lucky if I remember any sort of technique when they're trying to kill me!" One of the Roman demigods (Gwendollsomething) commented.

 **Percy wanted to hug Annabeth, she was so brilliant.**

Percy did do this in real life, pulling Annabeth close to his chest.

I glanced over at Athena to see her reaction, only to see that her face remained void of emotion.

 **One of the other empousai growled. 'Is this true, Kelli? Has our mistress made peace with Olympus?'**

 **'Shut up, Serephone!' Kelli screeched. 'Gods, you're annoying!'**

 **'I will not cross the Dark Lady.'**

Everyone in the room sighed in relief. Well, everyone except for Percy and Annabeth, that it.

Great, what now, I thought despairingly.

 **Annabeth took the opening. 'You'd all be better following Serephone. She's older and wiser.'**

 **'Yes!' Serephone shrieked. 'Follow me!'**

 **Kelli struck so fast, Percy didn't have the chance to raise his sword. Fortunately, she didn't attack him. Kelli lashed out at Serephone. For half a second, the two demons were a blur of slashing claws and fangs.**

 **Then it was over. Kelli stood triumphant over a pile of dust. From her claws hung the tattered remains of Serephone's dress.**

Several people groaned.

 **'Any more issues?' Kelli snapped at her sisters. 'Hecate is the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favors? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaia!'**

 **Her friends hissed in approval.**

 **Annabeth glanced at Percy, and he saw that she was out of ideas. She'd done what she could. She'dgot Kelli to eliminate one of her own. Now there was nothing left but to fight.**

 **'For two years I churned in the void,' Kelli said. 'Do you know how completely annoying it is to be vaporized, Annabeth Chase? Slowly re-forming, fully conscious, in searing pain for months and years as your body regrows, then finally breaking the crust of this hellish place and clawing your way back to daylight? All because some little girl stabbed you in the back?'**

"That would suck," The son of Dionysis commented. Several people glared at him for sympathizing with the enemy.

 **Her baleful eyes held Annabeth's. 'I wonder what happens if a demigod is killed in Tartarus. I doubt it's ever happened before. Let's find out.'**

 **Percy sprang, slashing Riptide in a huge arc. He cut one of the demons in half, but Kelli dodged and charged Annabeth. The other two empousai launched themselves at Percy. One grabbed his sword arm. Her friend jumped on his back.**

Percy lurched forward and grunted in pain.

 **Percy tried to ignore them and staggered towards Annabeth, determined to go down defending her if he had to, but Annabeth was doing pretty well. She tumbled to one side, evading Kelli's claws, and came up with a rock in her hand, which she smacked into Kelli's nose.**

 **Kelli wailed.** **Annabeth scooped up gravel and flung it in the empousa's eyes.**

Several people cheered.

 **Meanwhile, Percy thrashed from side to side, trying to throw off his empousa hitch-hiker, but her claws sank deeper into his shoulders. The second empousa held his arm, preventing him from using riptide.**

Percy grabbed his arm. Apollo was holding a glowing hand over the arm that had been bitten.

 **Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kelli lunge, raking her talons across Annabeth's arm. Annabeth screamed and fell.**

Annabeth cried out in pain as four large gashed appeared on her arm. Apollo immediately rushed over to her, healing them to the best of his ability.

Everyone in the room seemed seconds away from jumping to their feet.

 **Percy stumbled in her direction.** **The vampire on his back sank her teeth into his neck. Searing pain coursed through his body. His knees buckled.**

Percy cried out., and Apollo rushed back to him.

I wished I could take away his pain.

 **Stay on your feet, he told himself. You have to beat them.**

 **Then the other vampire bit his sword arm, and Riptide clattered to the ground. That was it. His luck had finally run out. Kelli loomed over Annabeth, savoring her moment of triumph.**

 **The other two empousai circled Percy, their mouths slavering, ready for another taste.**

 **Then a shadow fell across Percy. A deep war cry bellowed from somewhere above, echoing across the plains of Tartarus, and a Titan dropped onto the battlefield.**

READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE TOP!

And come back next Friday or Saturday (probably Saturday) for another update!


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